Nowhere Fast
by UnknownTitans
Summary: CHAPTERED - The Titans return from their vacation in Tokyo to find that new teenage meta-humans had been picking up the slack in their abscence. However the Titans become suspicious when some of them suddenly turn to crime.
1. In Our Absence

_**Yet to come:**_

 _At first there was only darkness, no sound or sensation other than the dark abyss that engulfed him. But after what felt like an eternity came light, a solitary light up ahead in the darkness gave Robin hope, the light grew larger and brighter every few moments and he awaited its embrace. However as the light grew and grew, the sense of comfort and relief began to fade quickly and instead was filled with pain and panic. The comforting, reassuring light had now began to scold him, the pain was immense and he could feel the blood begin to boil beneath his skin, his muscles burned as he tried to move to flee from the light but he was trapped. The void around him began to glow luminescent green and the pain became agony, he screamed but no sound escaped his mouth. The energy pulsed rapidly around his body and it felt like all of his nerves were firing at once, through the pain he began to re-establish a connection with his body, he could feel the cold metal floor beneath him and began to desperately lift himself up using his hands. His eyes locked on to the being in front of him, the twisted psychopath was laughing, despite all the pain he had caused, he was still laughing. The unbearable agony had shifted into something else now, seething anger, boundless rage. HE had done this, HE had caused all of this to happen, HE was going to pay for what he had done…_

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – In our absence**

Coming back to the tower had been a bittersweet event for the Titans, they were glad that the incident with Brushogan and Daizo was over but the hospitality of the people of Tokyo had made the five wish they could stay longer. A lot had happened in the space of 2 weeks, they had halted the corruption of the Tokyo police force, defeated a living ink monster which existence alone still baffled the Titans. They had become international celebrities and heroes to the people of Tokyo. But probably the biggest shock for the Titans was the fact that Robin had actually changed his mind. For years the boy wonder had held tightly to his beliefs that relationships were a distraction that he could afford to have, he had rehearsed the words of his former mentor hundreds of times over in his head and yet still the argument in his head over that case had raged on. It seemed that the trip had allowed him to clear his mind of all outside influences and allowed himself to decide what was best for him and not just what was best in hindsight. His conversation with Starfire on the rooftops of the crowded city had been the tipping point in his favour, he had thought that keeping Starfire at arm's length would stop him hurting her but watching her cry as she flew away made him realise that he would be hurting her either way.

Overall the trip had been an enlightening experience for all of its members, it showed them that there was a big open world outside of their crime ridden city. It had given them perspective for the future and that Jump City may not be their permanent residence. This had become especially true since numerous reports of meta-humans springing up all of Jump City to do their part in fighting crime, so much so that they had picked up the slack whilst the Titans were away and were continuing to do an excellent job. The Titans had already been back 4 days and they hadn't had a single alert. The ops room had essentially become 'Robin and Starfire's cuddling room' since that was the activity that seemed to be happening 99% of the time the two were in close proximity of one another. Cyborg had been the main rooter for the two of them to get together but he was starting to rethink his choices because of the sickeningly sweet barrage of affection between them. Cyborg sighed as he stepped into the ops room and noticed the pair in their usual spot on the couch, he made his way over to the kitchen area and his ears perked up. There was a loud wailing sound and he thought he was hearing things for a few moments before he realised the alert was actually going off. Robin and Starfire seemed to be similarly confused as they stood up from the sofa.

"False alarm?" Robin asked in confusion

Cyborg began to tap on his arm console, "Nope, Dr Light is apparently attacking Jump City bank"

"Has he not heard about all the new meta-humans?"

"The reports said that he was one of the first criminals to be brought in by the new guys, why would he go after a target like Jump City bank when he knows what's coming?"

Robin repositioned his mask over his eyes, "Regardless of that, Light is our responsibility to deal with. Get the others and we'll head out"

* * *

The battle they had been expecting seemed nowhere to be found, when they arrived the bank had been surrounded by armoured soldiers. They made their way up the stairs to the bank but a soldier quickly stepped in front and gestured them back. "The incident is contained, step down"

Robin was utterly confused, "Dr Light is in there! He's too powerful to be stopped by normal firear-" the words died in his mouth as he witnessed the bruised and battered, fearful looking Dr Light being escorted down the stairs from the bank entrance, his eyes went wide as he spotted the Titans and his pace sped up towards the escort van. Robin turned back to the guard, "what the hell happened here?"

"One of your new buddies decided to take the law into his own hands and beat Dr Light to a pulp, would have killed him if we didn't get here and restrain him"

The Titans looked to each other in shock, "Has he been detained?" Robin asked

"Yes, and he is awaiting further action. Now step aside so we can clear the area", as the soldier turned Robin spotted a small engraving on the firearm. It read "S.T.A.R Laboratories", Robin had known of the group for a while but he no idea they were producing firearms. That fact didn't sit well with Robin but he allowed it to slip from his mind for the moment.

"I don't get it, why would one of these new meta-humans want to kill Dr Light? They've been doing a great job so far, why ruin it now?" Beast Boy asked, perplexed.

"That's what I'm worried about, Beast Boy" Robin replied, concern evident on his face "We need to keep an eye on these metas, make sure that they're stable"

 **End of chapter 1**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

I've been sitting on the idea for this story for around 3-4 months now so I thought it was time to put them down in writing. I estimate that this story will probably be around 10 chapters long, I already have the ending planned out so I'm working on the filler/padding for the middle of the story. Gonna try to update this story once a week but I can't guarantee any kind of schedule for updates. Feedback is something that I sadly don't seem to get much of on my stories so even just something short would be appreciated.


	2. A Speedy Reunion

**Last Chapter**

" _Yes, and he is awaiting further action. Now step aside so we can clear the area", as the soldier turned Robin spotted a small engraving on the firearm. It read "S.T.A.R Laboratories", Robin had known of the group for a while but he no idea they were producing firearms. That fact didn't sit well with Robin but he allowed it to slip from his mind for the moment._

" _I don't get it, why would one of these new meta-humans want to kill Dr Light? They've been doing a great job so far, why ruin it now?" Beast Boy asked, perplexed._

" _That's what I'm worried about, Beast Boy" Robin replied, concern evident on his face "We need to keep an eye on these metas, make sure that they're stable"_

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – A Speedy Reunion**

The incident of the previous day had been nagging away at Robin's mind, no matter how much he tried to push them aside and focus on returning his alien girlfriend's affections. He wanted desperately to be able to enjoy the fact that they weren't constantly being called out on alerts but something about it all just didn't sit right with him. Especially the fact that S.T.A.R labs was now operating as some kind of militia, or at least supplying the weaponry for one.

Starfire opened her eyes slowly and she spotted the distant look on her boyfriend's face, his mind seemed to have wandered far outside the tower and he had stopped kissing her back completely. She leaned back from him and let out a small sigh. "Richard, please tell me what is troubling you so much"

He snapped out of his daze and looked at the sad and concerned look on her face, "Sorry Star" he replied apologetically, "I've not been paying much attention to you have I?"

"Not as much as you usually do" she answered with a coy smirk, placing her hand against his cheek she smiled "if you wish to tell me about it then I may be able to help alleviate your concerns. Is it in relation to the incident with the Dr Light yesterday?"

He nodded, "It doesn't make sense to me, I managed to find out that the meta that got arrested was Max Faraday, so I got hold of his records. He doesn't have a single criminal offense; it seems weird to me that he would suddenly want to kill someone"

"I will admit that the action does seem strange, however possibly this 'Max' was not mentally prepared to do battle and so did not know when to stop" she replied

Robin nodded in agreement, "Yeah I think you're probably right, I take my combat practise for granted but I guess it's probably hard for an average person to stop themselves once they get into the mind-set of a fight"

"Do you feel better now having discussed your concerns with me?" she asked with a playful smirk as she began to push her face towards his slowly.

He grinned, "Much. Now back to more pressing matters" he replied as he too inched his face closer. As the couple's lips were about to connect a rush of high speed wind blasted them back against the couch which knocked Robin off the side and onto the floor.

"Dickie boy!" the red haired, yellow suited speedster cheered, "why didn't you tell me you guys were back?"

Robin climbed to his feet and repositioned himself on the couch next to Starfire, glaring at his life-long friend he spoke with gritted teeth, "Nice to see you too, Wally"

Wally gave a look of mock hurt, "What's with the tone? Is that anyway to speak to your best friend?", upon saying that gears began to turn in his head and he turned to look at the embarrassed alien sat next to Robin. He smirked widely, "Ohhhh, did I interrupt Robin and Starfire's special _alone time_?", the couple's cheeks began to burn furiously and Wally let out a bought of laughter.

Robin straightened up his mask and readjusted his windswept hair, "Did you come here just to try and humiliate me in front of my girlfriend, Wally?"

" _Girlfriend_ ", Wally repeated, "now that is a word I'd never have thought would come out of the mouth of 'Dick Grayson, the stoic celibate'" he said with mock grandiose. The smirk returned to his face, "If only Bruce could see you now, I bet the old bat would have a heart attack if he knew the kissy faces you two have been making at each other"

A grin formed on Robin's face, "I'm pretty certain that Bruce will know by now, he's not contacted me about it so he's probably sulking"

Wally chuckled, "Anyway enough about you, boy blunder. I want to know how the beautiful princess Starfire is?" he lifted her hand up and kissed the back of it gently, he grinned madly as he saw Robin grit his teeth at the action.

Starfire giggled and reached her hand over to loop with Robin's, "I am doing most wondrously, friend!"

"You must be a miracle worker Star, there must have been like 6ft of stone around this guy's heart and you managed to crack it. Even Babs couldn't do that" Wally replied

Starfire tilted her head slightly, "Babs?"

Wally realised that he had probably dropped Robin into cold waters and he chuckled nervously, "Story for another time I guess"

Robin was thankful that Starfire didn't want to push that discussion, "You seem obsessed with people's love lives, Wally. How's yours going?"

Wally smiled dopily, "Jinxy and I are great"

"It brings my heart joy to see so many of our friends finding love" Starfire said with a bright smile

"Speaking of friends, where's Slimer, Edgar Allen Poe and Robocop?"

Robin was confused for a moment but then chuckled "I don't know if they'd appreciate those names"

"Nah, probably not. But they'd be sweet Halloween costumes for them right?"

"I could definitely imagine Raven with a moustache" Robin replied grinning

"I believe she would likely dismember us if we were to ask her to wear that" Starfire giggled

"Beast Boy and Cyborg went to an arcade down near the pier and I'm pretty sure Raven is in her room reading"

"So, do you guys miss being in Tokyo? You were gone for so long me and some of the others were making bets whether you'd come back at all"

"Yeah, we seemed to have missed a lot. When did those armed soldiers start showing up?"

"Oh yeah those guys, they came pretty soon after you guys left. Its why crimes been so low in the city recently. That and the other kids that have been showing up with powers. It's giving the rest of us a lot more time off so I'm not complaining" Wally said with a grin

"Something doesn't seem right about it all, the kid from the incident yesterday didn't even have a criminal report. I want to know where they ended up taking him, surely a normal prison wouldn't work considering he could punch through concrete" Robin said with concern

"I heard there's a S.T.A.R labs facility where they are taken to begin with. We don't know if that's where they stay permanently though" Wally replied with a shrug

"I need to talk to someone who knows more about what happened. We will go and see if we can talk to his family tomorrow, surely they must have some clue as to what's going on"

 **End of chapter 2**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

Sorry for the delay, I'll try to get at least one chapter posted every weekend.

Apologies if this chapter feels a bit slow and pointless, I'm just trying to set up for events that will happen in the upcoming chapters. Bear with me, it will start to make sense in time.


	3. The Faraday Case

**Last Chapter:**

" _Something doesn't seem right about it all, the kid from the incident yesterday didn't even have a criminal report. I want to know where they ended up taking him, surely a normal prison wouldn't work considering he could punch through concrete" Robin said with concern_

" _I heard there's a S.T.A.R labs facility where they are taken to begin with. We don't know if that's where they stay permanently though" Wally replied with a shrug_

" _I need to talk to someone who knows more about what happened. We will go and see if we can talk to his family tomorrow, surely they must have some clue as to what's going on"_

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – The Faraday Case**

The looming grey clouds made the usually vibrant Jump City, look gloomy and dark. Rain pattered softly against the cement pathing of the sidewalk as three teenagers strolled along it. The suburb they were currently in was just outside of the city, it was quiet and was definitely a nice change to the bustle of the busy streets. The three stopped and Robin flipped open his communicator briefly before gesturing to a house across opposite where they were stood. Stopping just in front of the porch Robin turned to the other two Titans. "We're going to have to be delicate with what we say, their son has just been taken away by the police and we don't want to upset them. Star, I want you to ask the first few questions, you're a lot more popular with citizens than the rest of us so they might be more lenient with answering questions if you're the one asking"

She nodded her head, "Understood"

Robin turned to his metallic friend, "Cyborg, record the entire conversation with them so we can go over it later". The robotic teen pressed a few buttons on his arm console and then gave a thumbs up to his leader.

The three stepped up to the front door with Starfire at the helm, she knocked gently on the door to avoid leaving a dent like she had with previous doors. After a few moments a woman in her early 40's opened the door and looked at the trio quizzically, her gaze fell on Cyborg and she narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?" she asked

Starfire stepped forwards slightly, "Greetings! My name is Starfire and these are my friends Robin and Cyborg. We are here to ask you some questions if you do not mind"

"I know who you are" she replied bitterly, "Are you here to come and take my daughter away from me as well now? She's at school but you'd be more than welcome to wait" her tone was angry and bitter.

Starfire recoiled in horror at the woman's question, "No! I would never wish to bring harm to any of your family. I simply wish to-"

"Yeah, well I don't wanna hear it" she responded doing to slam the door, however it was caught by another hand from inside. There were a few hushed whispers and after a moment a man had took the place of the woman.

"Hi I'm George, I'm sorry about my wife. We've all been on edge recently, after…well I'm sure you've probably heard…" the man said scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

Starfire gave a sympathetic smile, "Greetings George, my friends and I wish to know if we could possibly ask you some questions about your son Max?"

The man looked hesitant at first but he seemed to warm slightly as he looked at the three, "Why? What questions?"

"We wish to learn more about Max so that we will be able to better assist him" Starfire replied kindly

George smiled slightly, "Oh, okay then. Come in" he stepped aside and gestured to the living room where the trio took their seats on the couch's. He disappeared out of the room briefly and came back carrying a small tray in his hands. On the tray were 3 glasses of water, and a plate with some crackers and a wedge of cheese with a small cutting knife that seemed to have been crafted with the single purpose of cutting cheese.

Robin and Cyborg smirked at the odd gesture, "Do you get a lot of visitors Mr Faraday?" Robin asked gesturing to the tray.

George chuckled lightly, "Oh, not really. However, I pride myself in my hospitability to guests, especially to heroes like the Titans"

Starfire looked slightly perplexed by the wedge of cheese, she looked to Robin and then back to the cheese in hopes he would make the connection and explain. Robin chuckled at the cute gesture and he took the small knife and cut some of the cheese before placing it on one of the crackers and handing it to her. She eyed it cautiously for a moment before taking a bite of it, a smile formed on her face and she pushed the remaining combination into her mouth.

George was confused for a moment, "Have you never had cheese before?" he asked

Starfire shook her head and began cutting more of the cheese, "One of the perks of having an alien girlfriend, I get to show her all the cool things we have on Earth" Robin replied with a grin

George's eyes widened, "You- you're an alien?" he asked her in a confusing tone, it seemed to be a mixture of shock and awe

Starfire giggled and smiled at him, "I am a princess of a planet known as Tamaran, it is many lightyears away from Earth"

His eyes grew to the size of saucers and he put his head in his hands, "Oh my god, I gave water and crackers to a princess…From another planet! Please, let me get you something nicer" he chided himself

Starfire reached her hand across and patted the man reassuringly on his hand, "I do not wish for any trouble to be made. Here on Earth I am like anyone else, I do not wish for any special treatment"

Cyborg chuckled, "Dude, imagine what it's like being friends with her for over a year and then finding that out"

He laughed sheepishly, "Sorry, I forgot you guys wanted to ask me some questions about Max"

Robin sat up straighter on the couch, "Thank you. When did Max get his abilities?"

"We don't know exactly. I presume he had them since he was born but he didn't show any signs until he was a teenager"

"What kind of signs?" Robin asked

"Well, when he was 12 he slipped and fell off of this tall platform. We thought for sure he would have broken at least one of his legs but he barely had a bruise, and even that had healed within a day"

"So he has advanced bone and muscle structure? A report suggested he also had advanced strength" Cyborg asked

"Yeah, one day he was trying to repair his bike and he accidentally yanked out one of the spokes on his wheel. He got so frustrated and he ended up punching the pavement so hard that it left a dent. Didn't even leave a scratch on his hand"

"Did he use his abilities often?" Starfire asked

"No, he hated having powers. He thought they were a nuisance and that people wouldn't like him because of them"

"Had he had any previous behavioural issues, outbursts or mood changes before he was arrested?" Robin asked

"No, not really…He used to be obsessed with watching news coverage about you guys, when he learned about his powers he thought they were a problem but he saw what you guys were doing and he wanted to help. About 2 weeks ago he started meeting up with other kids who also had powers, he thought that since you guys were away that he had some duty to pick up the slack or something. Him wanting to help was the closest thing to a behavioural change we ever saw"

"And you were okay with this idea?" Cyborg asked

"We're his parents, we'd never be fully okay with him getting into danger but we had seen his strength and how determined he was to help so we wanted to be supportive of him. His sister Sarah, even made a costume and a mask for him to wear to hide his identity"

Starfire smiled slightly as she recalled memories of her own brother, it was a bittersweet thought "Does your daughter have any 'abilities' of her own?"

"No, she didn't seem to care though. She just loved the idea that her big brother could be a super hero…It hit her really hard when Max was arrested" George replied sadly.

"Have you managed to visit Max, since he was arrested?"

"We got a call from a S.T.A.R Labs employee telling us he had been detained, so we rushed over and they had him in a protective cell. We sat and talked to him but he seemed off…"

"Off?" Robin probed

"He was really distant; he didn't really seem to be paying attention when we were talking to him and when he did decide to listen he would get really agitated, It was like he didn't want to see us. They told us that they had found traces of drugs in his system which they think caused him to act so violently towards that man and so we assumed that was the explanation of why he acted so coldly towards us"

"Do you believe that he had taken drugs?" Robin asked

"I know my son better than anyone else in the world but the test results showing drug use don't lie. I don't know how long he had been taking them before the incident" he paused and he rubbed his eyes "I don't think I want to know"

"How would he have gotten a hold of the drugs in the first place?" Cyborg asked

"My only thought is that those other kids he met up with might have given them to him. He didn't really go out a lot before he met them"

"Do you know the names of any of these other teenagers? We wish to find the culprit who gave your son the drugs so that they may be held accountable" Starfire asked

"I know the name of one of them but even them admitting wouldn't free him. He took the drugs himself so he would still be accountable…"

"Please, it would assist us regardless" Starfire pleaded

"Alicia Keystone. They spent a lot of time together, she could fly so it made it easy to sneak out of her house to come here and see him. She seemed really sweet and kind so I don't think she would have given him the drugs but she might know who did"

Robin nodded, "Thank you for your time Mr Faraday, we will go and see this Alicia and see what she knows. We will do everything in our power to try and get your son released, but it may take us some time. Keep in touch with him and let us know if you think of anything else that might help us"

George smiled, "Anything you can do to help my son would mean the world to me. Thank you, Titans"

The three said their goodbyes and headed out onto the pavement once more, "Pick up on anything that wasn't obvious, Rob?" Cyborg asked as they walked towards the car.

"I don't like how much S.T.A.R Labs is involved with this, they are a science research and development institute, not a disciplinary centre with a militia. Something feels off about all of this and we're gonna figure out why."

 **End of chapter 3**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

Things are starting to get pieced together in the story now but there are still a good number of chapters left (roughly 10 chapters in total) and I'm looking forward to writing the later ones.

Also for anyone wondering, the names aren't supposed to be significant. Max Faraday is a character from the WIldstorm universe but I just used his name because I liked it, this will be the case with the others unless I say otherwise.

Happy Halloween everyone!


	4. Romeo and Juliet

**Last Chapter:**

 _Robin nodded, "Thank you for your time Mr Faraday, we will go and see this Alicia and see what she knows. We will do everything in our power to try and get your son released, but it may take us some time. Keep in touch with him and let us know if you think of anything else that might help us"_

 _George smiled, "Anything you can do to help my son would mean the world to me. Thank you, Titans"_

 _The three said their goodbyes and headed out onto the pavement once more, "Pick up on anything that wasn't obvious, Rob?" Cyborg asked as they walked towards the car._

" _I don't like how much S.T.A.R Labs is involved with this, they are a science research and development institute, not a disciplinary centre with a militia. Something feels off about all of this and we're gonna figure out why."_

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – Romeo and Juliet**

Alicia Keystone lived in a significantly less wealthy part of the city compared to Max, her place of residence appeared to be in one of the many rundown apartment buildings situated in the low property value area close to the industrial sites. The overpass above left the street looking dark and dingy, lots of homeless people stood close to their humbly constructed shelters and whilst the apartment buildings looked old and uncared for, it seemed their residents were the lucky ones in this situation. The 3 Titans looked out onto the glum scene from the car windows as they drove through before pulling up at the side of the road and stepping out. Many pedestrians looked cautiously at them, whilst others stared in complete shock and surprise that members of the honoured Teen Titans would come to a place like this. After a few moments their attention wavered and they moved on with their daily routines.

"I did not realise how many people lived in such basic conditions" Starfire said sadly

"This is common for most cities sadly. The majority of Gotham City is like this" Robin replied as he reached out his hand and laced his fingers with the solemn princess

"Was homelessness a factor on Tamaran, Star?" Cyborg asked

"I believe it likely was, however as a princess I was not exposed to areas where there may have been. Tamaran's population was not as large as Earth's so I am unsure"

The 3 stepped into the entrance of one of the apartment buildings and stopped in front of the help desk, behind the desk sat a teenager around 18 years old with messy brown hair and a very bored expression as he mindlessly scrolled through his phone. He didn't seem to notice them come in and after a few moments of silence Starfire pressed the small bell on the desk. He looked up and his eyes grew wide as he stared at the girl opposite him.

"You-you-you're…Starfire!" the teen stammered

Robin stepped forwards slightly, "We're here to see someone, so if you can give us which number they're in then it would be a big help"

The boy seemed to ignore Robin's request and instead kept his attention transfixed on Starfire, "What are you doing in a place like this, beautiful?"

Starfire chuckled nervously, "As Robin already said, we are here to talk to someone. Would you perhaps give us the room number we are looking for?"

He grinned, "Sure, got any plans after that? Maybe I could take you for a drink somewhere?"

"I am how you would say 'already taken'" she replied

His face fell flat, "By who?" She turned and gestured to Robin, and the teen let out an exasperated sigh "Should have guessed that"

Cyborg and Robin rolled their eyes, the kid had known Starfire for less than 5 minutes and he was already acting put out over the fact she wasn't single. "Can we get that room number now? The name is Alicia Keystone" Robin asked in annoyance.

The teen sighed again and opened a large red book on his desk and flicked through the records, "D-5", as the 3 Titans walked past the desk and towards the stairway "Fucking clowns, stealing all the hot ones" the teen muttered to himself.

Robin struggled to keep the smirk off his face.

* * *

The corridor looked almost as dank and run down as the outside of the building, some of the metal on the doorframes had begun to rust and parts of the wallpaper we're peeling. The 3 stopped as they reached the door and read "D-5" on the small wooden sign on the wall. Robin raised his hand and knocked.

There were faint footsteps from the other side of the door and after a few seconds many locks could be heard turning on the door before it eventually clicked open. The door swung open to reveal the form of Alicia, she seemed to be the same age as Max at around 15, despite the run-down nature of the building she wore fashionable clothes and seemed almost out of place in an environment like this. Her eyes connected with the group and they grew wide before a wide smile formed on her face, "Robin, Starfire, Cyborg! Holy shit, what are you guys doing here?" she asked in awe and disbelief.

Robin smiled slightly at Alicia, "We want to talk to you about Max Faraday, you were his friend right?"

Her smile evaporated and was replaced with a sad expression, "Max…errm, yeah…what do you want to know about him?" she paused for a second "can you help him?" she asked rapidly

"Can we come in before we start talking?" Cyborg asked

Alicia nodded and led them in, the inside of her apartment was cluttered and messy. Countless magazines and other objects were strewn around the floors and tables. It was clear she did not have much space to store things. She quickly cleared some objects off of the couch and gestured for the 3 Titans to sit down and then sat opposite them on a small chair, she fidgeted with her hands. "What's first?"

"How long have you known Max for?" Robin asked

"About a month, we started dating a few weeks ago"

The Titans looked in confusion at each other, "You two were dating? His dad didn't mention that" Cyborg asked

Alicia smiled fondly, "Neither of our parents knew. We knew they wouldn't be happy about it since we're from different classes. So we did it in secret, the others nicknamed us Romeo and Juliet"

"Do you hide a lot of things from your parents?" Robin asked

"My mama doesn't even know I can fly. She would lose her shit if I ever told her about what me and the others do"

"How many others are there?" Starfire asked

"Including me and Max there was 5"

"'Was'?" Robin asked

"Yeah, one of the other guys, Grant Hastings, got arrested as well, it was whilst you guys were in Tokyo" she elaborated

"What did he get arrested for?" Robin asked quickly

"Same thing as Max, he flipped his shit and went after that Control Freak guy. We had only known him for like a day, he seemed _off_ from the beginning…"

"Max's dad told us he was drugged which is what caused him to go berserk, could that guy have given him the drugs?"

Alicia's face went white, "Max…he was drugged?"

"So you didn't know of him taking any substance at all?" Robin asked

"No…no…Max would never take drugs!" Alicia shouted, "he knew how stuff like that fucks with your head. There's no way he would take any of it…"

"Reports show that traces of drugs were found in his system after he attacked Dr Light, someone in your group or outside of it must have given them to him" Robin stated

Alicia put her head in her hands and a few tears leaked out of her eyes, "Someone must have forced him to take them…he wouldn't've done this to himself"

Starfire patted the girl's shoulder, "We do not wish to upset you friend, we simply wish to know more about what has been happening so that we may better assist Max. Do you have any idea who may have given them to Max?"

"Maybe one of the others?" She replied shakily

Robin flipped out his communicator and a soft dealing tone could be heard, "Beast Boy here, what's up Robin?"

"Beast Boy get me the S.T.A.R Labs record for a kid named 'Grant Hastings'"

There was a sound of faint typing in the background, "Putting the file through the decrypter thingy" he paused for a minute and he could be heard mumbling to himself as he skim-read the document.

"Was there any substances found in his blood stream when he was analysed?"

Beast Boy mumbled again for a moment, "Yeah, some weird drug called Scolopo-…errr Scopolamine"

Robin looked to Cyborg and he began typing into his arm console but Starfire perked up quickly, "Ah! I am aware of that chemical!"

"You are?" Robin asked confused

"Yes! It is a chemical that causes a person to fall into a trance where they will obey the orders of another person" When I first arrived on Earth I spent many hours reading the 'Science textbooks' to learn about this world, I remember reading about Scopolamine"

Robin smiled in pride at her, "Compare that drug with the one found in Max's system Beast Boy"

There was a pause, "Exact match" Beast Boy replied

Alicia's already distraught face turned possibly even whiter and she looked panic, "Max and Grant were being mind-controlled?"

"Question is, by who?" Cyborg asked, "who would benefit from a couple of teenagers getting arrested?"

"Perhaps one of the villains we have previously done battle with, they may see this action as some form of revenge?" Starfire suggested

"That's our best lead so far, we need to figure out who would want to do this and soon. Before more kids wind up in prison"

 **End of chapter 4**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

Apologies for the delay on this one, had some university work to complete so that took priority.

Things are gonna start getting more interesting soon, I promise. I hate having to write filler/set up stuff but it's necessary for later parts to make sense.

I'll try and get the next chapter up by Sunday but it won't be up before then.


	5. Date Night

_**Last Chapter:**_

 _Robin smiled in pride at her, "Compare that drug with the one found in Max's system Beast Boy"_

 _There was a pause, "Exact match" Beast Boy replied_

 _Alicia's already distraught face turned possibly even whiter and she looked panic, "Max and Grant were being mind-controlled?"_

" _Question is, by who?" Cyborg asked, "who would benefit from a couple of teenagers getting arrested?"_

" _Perhaps one of the villains we have previously done battle with, they may see this action as some form of revenge?" Starfire suggested_

" _That's our best lead so far, we need to figure out who would want to do this and soon. Before more kids wind up in prison"_

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – Date Night**

Visiting Alicia had brought up some troubling information for the Titans, what had started as some meta human teenagers going rogue had turned into a conspiracy of mind control with worrying implications. Pieces of the larger puzzle we're beginning to form in Robin's mind but so far he only had the corner section of the image completed and already the full picture was looking grim. Alicia had provided them with the names of the 2 other members of the team, Azumi Leow a girl with the ability to turn her skin into a purple metallic substance that made her almost invulnerable and Brian Law who could turn himself into a living flame, they had been given the codenames 'Orchid' and 'Sunfire' by their team members. At first glance the two didn't seem likely suspects for drug pushing but It didn't deter Robin. He leant back against his computer chair and removed his mask before rubbing his hands over his face, he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep in the last few days. Grey bags had formed under his eyes from the late night sessions of researching this case. He was tempted to contact Bruce to see if he could shed some light on the case but the image of his former mentor's smug grin put him off that idea. Jump was his territory and the Titans would deal with this.

"Have you moved from that chair at all today?" a voice questioned behind him

He turned his chair and smiled slightly at his empath friend, "Probably not" he replied with a slight chuckle

She noticed the bags under his eyes, "You don't look like you've slept much either, where's Starfire?"

Robin turned more on his chair and gestured to the couch where the alien princess was sound asleep, he smiled affectionately at her "Starfire has been trying to help me but the late nights are a lot harder on her"

Raven frowned slightly, "You do realise there is 5 of us right? You don't have to sit and do all the work by yourself, Dick"

He inwardly cringed at her chiding tone, Raven only ever seemed to call him by his name when he had done something wrong. She had become somewhat like a sister to him over the last few years and he appreciated her concern, "I know, it's just that sometimes when I get in the mind-set of working it's hard for me to stop" memories of his long hours in the evidence room staring at that soulless black and orange mask flashed through his head and a chill ran along his spine.

"Well I'm telling you to stop" she replied

He raised his eyebrow, "What?"

"You heard me, you're taking a break tonight"

"I don't think so Raven, we need to talk to those other teenagers about the Scopolamine"

"Beast Boy, Cyborg and I will do that. You and Starfire are taking the night off" she replied with finality in her voice

Robin turned back to look at his sleeping girlfriend and smiled slightly, Raven followed his gaze, "As the leading expert of emotional stability I can assure you that you both need the rest. Starfire is just as drained as you are"

Robin seemed to struggle for a few seconds, years of training and teachings nagged at the back of his head telling him to keep working. "I'm gonna take her out to dinner" he finally stated

"Good decision, where?" Raven replied

His face went blank, his mind searched through all its backlog of data for any restaurants but all that seemed to appear to him was the pizza place that seemed to have become a staple part of their diet "Umm…"

She rolled her eyes at his naivety, "Lucky for you, Starfire seems to be the least picky eater in the universe so I don't think she'll care where you take her"

"Excellent point", he spun back around on his chair and began searching on the computer, he had been to almost all of the restaurants in Gotham multiple times for formal events he had to attend with Bruce. He didn't really want to take Starfire to a place as formal as any of those. His eyes were drawn to the bright colours displayed on the website for a Spanish/Mexican bar and grill. From the images, the place seemed pretty standard however there was lots of brightly coloured decorations mounted on the walls and plants scattered around the inside. He smirked to himself as he imagined Starfire's face lighting up as they would walk in the entrance, in a funny and cute way she reminded him slightly of a magpie flocking to shiny objects to try and collect them. He turned to Raven for some kind of approval on his choice of venue.

She shrugged, "I would have thought it would be a bit too low brow for your millionaire tastes"

Memories of sitting in grand dining rooms next to Bruce as he small talked with elderly millionaires, most of them probably still believed the Earth was flat he scoffed "I was never into those types of places, they are way too snobbish for my liking. Plus, it would probably just make Starfire feel uncomfortable…"

"What would make me feel uncomfortable?" a groggy voice asked from behind him

He turned and smiled affectionately at his sleepy girlfriend, "Don't worry about it. I'm taking you out for dinner tonight, princess"

She looked at him quizzically for a moment and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "You are not doing the 'joking' are you? If so it is unlikely I would understand the punchline"

Her doubt stung a little bit but he guessed she had plenty of reason to, "Nope, we haven't been on a proper date yet so I thought we would-"

He was cut off as she practically tackled him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. She pulled back after a few moments and a dazzling smile was fixed onto her face "Where do you plan on taking me, Richard?" she asked sweetly.

It took a few seconds for Robin's brain to even begin to function again, he wasn't expecting a reaction as strong as that but he definitely wasn't going to complain. He tried to reply but he was forced to clear his throat, "A Spanish restaurant"

Her smile widened, "Oooh that is a most wonderful idea! I have not yet tried any of the food from Spain"

Raven gave Robin a small knowing smile as she made her way back into the kitchen to make her tea.

"It's not a fancy restaurant or a formal event so you can wear anything you like, Star"

* * *

As he stood there trying to force his brain into producing coherent thought he realised what exactly she classed as 'anything'. The alien princess wore a long emerald green dress, it reminded him quite a lot of the prom dress she had worn but in a dazzling shade of green rather than pink, and also quite a bit shorter in length.

She gave a small twirl in front of him but after a few moments of silence she became nervous. "Is my attire not acceptable?"

His mind locked back into focus and he gave her a reassuring smile, "You look breath-taking, Star". He looked down at his own choice of attire of jeans and a polo shirt and he felt embarrassed. "I need to change" he said quickly and turned back towards his room but she caught him by the arm.

"You look fine, Richard" she replied sweetly before taking his hand

* * *

His prediction of her reaction to the restaurant had been almost entirely correct, the second her eyes met the brightly coloured decorations her face had lit up. It amazed him how truly adorable she could be in any given situation. They had equipped their hologram rings before they left the tower, they had been a present from Cyborg after they got back from Tokyo, the metallic teen had made them especially so the two could go out without being pestered. It had only changed their appearance slightly, for Robin it changed his hair colour to a dark shade of brown and for Starfire it made her skin slightly fairer and also altered the sclera of her eyes to be white rather than their previous emerald gleam. Robin was disappointed that she had to hide her beauty just to seem normal but he supposed this was the sacrifice they would have to make if they wanted to go out by themselves.

Starfire was mesmerised by the selection of foods available, they had agreed that Robin would pick foods he thought she would like and then if she did then they could order more. The couple giggled between themselves at the confused look of the servers as they brought plate after plate of food to the table and have to carry away lots of empty ones. Robin was basically full after his 2nd plate of food but he kept ordering more to allow the princess to try as much as she could. It really was a wonder how a girl with such a small frame could fit that much food into her stomach and not feel sick but he supposed that Tamaranean metabolism must be a lot stronger than human's. By the time she was finished most of the other customers had left and the staff were soaked in sweat from their attempts to keep up with her appetite.

The smile had never left Robin's face all evening, they hadn't sat staring into each other's eyes, holding hands and confessing their undying love for each other. Instead it had been a time where the two of them could have fun together and not have to feel the pressure of the world around them. They had only been together a few weeks but tonight had made him sure that he loved her. She could make him happier than he had ever been in his life and he knew she was the one he wanted to spend the remainder of it with. It was already getting late as they decided to order dessert, within minutes a plate of chocolate coated churros had been placed in front of them. Starfire reached for one quickly before examining it, she broke a piece of it off and giggled as she pushed it towards Robin's mouth. He looked at her oddly for a second before a silly grin spread on his face and he took a bite. He did the same for her and the two giggled at each other's action. After a few more minutes the churros were finished and they paid and left the quirky establishment.

"I've never had so much fun in my life" Robin said in a joyful tone

"Nor have I" Starfire replied dreamily, she wrapped her arms around Robin and the two rocketed off into the sky towards the tower.

* * *

The rest of the Titans seemed to be asleep as they crept quietly through the hall, Robin wondered to himself what they had managed to find out from those other 2 teenagers but he would worry about that in the morning. Tonight had been too good to spoil it with work. They soon arrived outside Starfire's room and they stopped, neither wanted the night to have had to end at all. Starfire placed her hands on the side of Robin's face and she kissed him gently, it didn't take long for it to grow deeper and it seemed to last an eternity but Robin finally broke the kiss and stepped back from her slightly. "I'll see you in the morning, beautiful" he turned to step away but her hand clutched his as he moved. He looked back at it and then up to her face and he could see the silent hopeful request she was making with her eyes, he felt torn but the wondrous twinkle in her eyes made his answer simple. She reached down to their hands and gently slipped the rings off of their fingers before opening the door to her room and leading him inside. The soft click of the lock echoed through the silent tower.

 **End of chapter 5**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

As promised this chapter was a change in pace and a nice break from the main plot. Apologies for the delay again. I'm thinking that this will probably be my likely schedule for chapters in the future, i.e they will either be uploaded on Sunday or the following Wednesday.

When I get towards the end of the story I will be uploading the chapters in bulk rather than a week apart. I think the final act of the story will be around 2-3 chapters so when I get to that I will upload them all at once so aren't left on cliff-hangers.

Happy thanksgiving to my American viewers!


	6. Back to business

_**Last Chapter:**_

 _The rest of the Titans seemed to be asleep as they crept quietly through the hall, Robin wondered to himself what they had managed to find out from those other 2 teenagers but he would worry about that in the morning. Tonight had been too good to spoil it with work. They soon arrived outside Starfire's room and they stopped, neither wanted the night to have had to end at all. Starfire placed her hands on the side of Robin's face and she kissed him gently, it didn't take long for it to grow deeper and it seemed to last an eternity but Robin finally broke the kiss and stepped back from her slightly. "I'll see you in the morning, beautiful" he turned to step away but her hand clutched his as he moved. He looked back at it and then up to her face and he could see the silent hopeful request she was making with her eyes, he felt torn but the wondrous twinkle in her eyes made his answer simple. She reached down to their hands and gently slipped the rings off of their fingers before opening the door to her room and leading him inside. The soft click of the lock echoed through the silent tower._

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – Back to business**

A yawn escaped Robin's mouth as he rolled over on the luxurious round bed, dazzling sunlight poured in from the large windows and caused the boy wonder to squint at his surroundings. He looked over at the clock on the small bedside table, he was confused by the time of 12pm and he didn't understand why he hadn't woken sooner. He shuffled slightly and he brushed against something warm next to him, he turned again and saw the long red hair draped along the pillow next to him, his gaze followed down passed the hair and he noticed her bare back. His heart began hammering in his chest and his confusion wasn't helping, focusing as much as he could he went over the previous night in his mind and suddenly the foggy picture became clear. His heart rate calmed slightly and he relaxed back into the pillow, he turned to look at her back again and he smiled as he thought about the previous night. His initial shuffling seemed to have brought the alien princess out of her deep sleep and she began to stir, after a few moments she let out a small yawn and rolled over to face her boyfriend. She too seemed confused as she looked at his face but after a moment a dazzling smile lit her face.

"Good morning, Richard" she purred

"More like afternoon, beautiful" he replied with a grin

"Ah yes, that perhaps would be more accurate. Last night was most wondrous would you not agree?"

"Which part specifically? Both were great" he smirked

She giggled, "Yes both parts were most enjoyable" she shuffled up slightly so that she was closer to him and she rested her head against his, "it is nice to be able to wake up beside you, my love"

He smiled warmly at her affection, "I could get used to his as well, 'my love'" he replied with a small chuckle

"It would be my wish to lay here forever but our friends may wish to see us" she said with a sigh, climbing out of the bed she reached down for her scattered clothes.

Robin felt his face growing hot as he was transfixed on her for a minute but he cleared his throat and quickly reached for his own strewn clothes.

* * *

They stepped into the ops room to find Raven laid across the couch holding a book just above her face and Cyborg cooking something in the kitchen. Cyborg turned to look at the couple as they walked in and he wriggled his eyebrows playfully at Robin before chuckling to himself. Robin could already feel the berating he would be receiving from Beast Boy and Cyborg.

Raven looked up from her book for a minute and gave the couple a smirk, "Seems like you two had fun last night"

Robin felt his throat go dry, "What makes you say that?"

"Just that you didn't come back till late" she replied

"Oh, yeah. We decided to stay for a while" he replied with a smile

Raven gave Starfire a wink and the alien girl giggled quietly to herself

"What did you get from talking to the two other metas?" Robin asked, his work mentality slipping on easily

"Neither of them gave Max or Grant any drugs" Raven stated

"Are you 100%?" Robin asked sceptically

"We asked them different versions of the same question to make sure they weren't trying to word their answers to not be a lie so that I wouldn't pick up on them, but neither of them were lying, I made sure"

Robin felt his stomach sink. Having their friends give them drugs for whatever reason was detestable but somewhat believable, he didn't like the implications that it was someone external to their group. "Do they have any ideas who might have done it?"

"The only other thing they said was that they had seen some of those S.T.A.R Labs soldiers watching them sometimes. I think S.T.A.R Labs know that someone is targeting metas and so they are monitoring known metas"

Robin nodded, "That explains how they get to the scene so quickly. They must not have a warrant for an arrest unless the meta commits a crime"

A red and yellow blur dashed into the room at breakneck speed and stopped in front of the bewildered teens. His physical form kept phasing in and out like he was still running despite standing still.

Robin was instantly on alert, "Wally! You need to slow yourself"

The red-haired boy phased back into reality, he looked panicked and there were some tear tracks left on his face. "They took her! They took Jinx"

"Who took Jinx, friend" Starfire replied confused by the outburst

He spoke rapidly and clearly still in shock, "We were out getting lunch and then she started acting crazy and then…then some soldiers appeared and they put this…clamp thing on her and she stopped moving…" a few more tears leaked down his face and he pulled his mask off, "I tried to carry her but as I was picking her up they stunned me with something and I was knocked out for hours…I kept looking for her but I came here, I didn't know who else to go"

Robin put his hands on his friend's shoulders, "We'll get her back Wally, I promise"

"I tried calling Hotspot and Argent but they weren't responding, I think they were targeted too" Wally added

Robin turned to Cyborg, "Go get Beast Boy, they've got our own and were gonna go get them back"

* * *

They arrived outside the mayor's office soon after leaving the tower, they had opted for ordering the mayor to have the other Titans released over breaking into S.T.A.R Labs seemed more favourable. The 6 marched in ignoring the complaints of the mayor's assistant. Pushing the doors open they approached the confused mayor.

"I didn't expect a visit from the Titans today, do you have an appointment?" the mayor asked bewildered

Cyborg stepped forwards, "We think the fact that your private army is arresting Titans is important enough to not warrant an appointment" he replied coolly

"If the soldiers are arresting your friends then it is because they have valid reason to, they have been instructed to detain dangerous individuals to keep the public safe" the mayor replied sternly

"Their actions clearly aren't normal behaviour, they have been drugged and you don't seem to question that!" Raven bit back

"S.T.A.R Labs officials have already made me aware of this drug issue, we are not responsible for the substance abuse issues of teenagers" the mayor responded with a shrug

"That's bullshit and you know it! My girlfriend is not a drug abuser or dangerous" Wally growled

"I will remind you to watch your tongue in my office, Titans. Do not think that just because you have helped this city, that means that you own it" the mayor growled back.

Starfire stepped forwards, trying to keep her voice neutral as she spoke, "We do not wish to cause trouble. We only wish to see our friends released from their unorthodox detainment"

The mayor seemed to take offense to that comment the most, "This is the problem with the world. You meta-humans think that you are somehow above everyone else and that the laws don't apply to you. News flash, they do...now get out of my office, I have other more pressing matters to attend to"

"This isn't over. We won't let you cover this up" Robin replied narrowing his eyes as they turned to leave the office

"What's the plan now" Wally asked, irritation and impatience evident in his voice

"We get our friends back ourselves" Robin replied

 **End of chapter 6**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

Apologies again for the delay, a mix of university work and watching the Yogscast christmas charity livestreams have been eating up my time.

We're probably about 3-4 chapters from the end now and hopefully I will be able to get it finished before Christmas but I can't guarantee that. As I said before the last few chapters will be uploaded at the same time to stop long cliff-hangers.

Follow my tumblr "unknowntitans" for updates


	7. The Trap

_**Last Chapter:**_

 _The mayor seemed to take offense to that comment the most, "This is the problem with the world. You meta-humans think that you are somehow above everyone else and that the laws don't apply to you. News flash, they do...now get out of my office, I have other more pressing matters to attend to"_

" _This isn't over. We won't let you cover this up" Robin replied narrowing his eyes as they turned to leave the office_

" _What's the plan now" Wally asked, irritation and impatience evident in his voice_

" _We get our friends back ourselves" Robin replied_

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – The Trap**

The S.T.A.R Labs facility seemed imposing as the group arrived at its entrance, it was only a few stories in height but it somehow gave off an aura of a much greater magnitude. A large sign stood just in front of the doors that read "Science and Technology Advanced Research Laboratories". The group marched in through the entrance and watched as scientists and other employees stopped their routine and stared at the group. Some of them seemed panicked at seeing the Titans and it made Robin feel uneasy. As they approached the elevators a large TV on the wall flickered to life and the grinning face of a man in his mid-forties was displayed. He wore an expensive looking suit and his greying hair was neatly combed back, the group stopped and stared up at the screen.

"Hello Titans, welcome to S.T.A.R Labs" the TV spoke, "allow me to introduce myself, I'm-"

"Garrison Slate" Cyborg interrupted

"Ah yes nice to see you again, Victor"

Cyborg grit his teeth, "Name's Cyborg now, remember that"

"Of course, there's probably not much left of Victor anymore is there?" Garrison replied, a smirk evident in his tone.

Cyborg growled and Robin stepped in front of his metallic friend, "Abducting teenagers is an interesting priority change for a scientific research facility isn't it?"

"You say 'abducting', I say cleaning the streets of criminals and keeping the public safe" Garrison replied matter-of-factly

"My girlfriend is not a criminal, she and the rest were being controlled!" Wally bit back

"And the breadcrumbs have all been leading back here Slate" Robin said narrowing his eyes at the man, "any explanations for that?"

Garrison's face formed into a scowl for a moment before it morphed back into a small smirk, "That's a wild claim you're making there, isn't it Robin? I don't have to answer to you and your friends"

"Stop bullshitting us Slate!" Wally yelled

"Watch your tongue boy…your girlfriend's condition won't improve from your insults" Garrison replied

Wally looked like he was about to explode so Starfire stepped forwards, "Enough! Where are you holding our friends?" she spoke with a growl.

He smirked at her, "The holding rooms are on level 3 but I assure you it will be quite impossible to see your friends at this time"

"Oh, are we not allowed to look around then? Worried we're gonna find something incriminating?" Robin replied mockingly

The Titans pushed forwards to the elevators and soon they had arrived on level 3, in front of them stretched a corridor with many holding cells. They approached the first one and looked through the door, confusion was evident on their faces as they saw the state of the room, empty.

"What the…?" Wally asked, he zipped up and down the hall at super speed and came back to the group with wide panicked eyes, "they're all empty!"

The sound of many footsteps running echoed around them and soon soldier burst into the corridor from the stairwells and surrounded the group. Starbolts were lit quickly and Starfire threw a barrage at the floor in front of the guards halting their march forwards. As the smoke cleared a screen on the wall came to life and the smug face of Garrison Slate appeared once again.

"I wouldn't attack my soldier's children, that would be a criminal offense"

"Self-defence is not a crime" Raven shouted back

"Self-defence?" he asked with a smirk, the screen changed to live video footage of one of the smaller S.T.A.R Labs facilities in the city. A small view of Garrison was overlayed on the screen and in his hand he held a small remote. "Self-defence won't hold well considering there's a warrant for your arrest" he said pressing his thumb down on the button. The live video showed the building exploding violently causing some of the other surrounding buildings to collapse with it.

The Titans watched in horror as the buildings collapsed and numerous civilians appeared to be caught in the wreckage. Robin shook violently, "YOU'RE INSANE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW MANY PEOPLE COULD BE HURT?"

The other Titans stood still in mortified silence, Starfire had covered her mouth with her hand and a few tear trails leaked down her cheeks. "How could you do this...all those people…" her eyes glowed a dangerous green "FOR WHAT PURPOSE?" she finished with a shout.

"But you see… it wasn't me who did it" Garrison said with a smirk and the live footage cut out and instead it was replaced by what looked like CCTV camera footage from inside of the building before its demolition. A female figure stepped in view of the camera and the Titans gasped in unison, as the camera focused the form of Starfire became clear. She moved around placing explosive charges on different sections of the walls, the video sped up and Starfire disappeared and was replaced with Raven and then Robin as the elapsed time passed. The video was turned off and Garrison reappeared, "An act of terrorism like this deserves proper punishment. As we speak this video is being sent to news teams around Jump City… you will all be coming with us"

The Titans all reacted in an instant jumping forwards into battle against the soldiers, many were knocked to the floor quickly but more were on their way. Raven went into her astral form and began to envelope her friends to get away from the building but a large metal device that resembled a neck brace was launched forwards and clamped around her leg. She let out a cry as electricity surged through her body and her astral raven form vanished. Her eyes went wide and she began using her powers to try and break the mechanism but every time she called upon her powers another surge of electricity ran through her actively disabling her. The others noticed Raven's situation quickly and moved over to cover her, Beast Boy morphed into a large green tiger and leapt onto a group of the soldiers to give his friends some time to assist Raven. However, after a few moments a clamp had found a way around one of his legs and he was forced back into his human form as he crumpled to the ground in pain.

Starfire and Cyborg began trying to destroy the devices on their friends but it seemed to be of no avail, starbolts only left scorch marks and even Cyborgs buzz saw had no effect. Robin looked at the situation in a panic, "We need to retreat, can you get us out of here Wally?"

"Only one at a time" his fast friend replied

"Take Robin and Cyborg first" Starfire said quickly

"I'm not going anywhere without you, Star" Robin opposed quickly

Wally ran over to Raven and tried to lift her but he found that the device had magnetised to the floor holding her and Beast Boy firmly in place.

Wally zipped back over in front of Robin, "We can't move them, we need to think of another plan"

"There isn't enough time" Robin replied in frustration, "we might have to leave the others behind" he said tossing an exploding capsule that knocked back some soldiers heading their way.

"Dude, get out of here" Beast Boy shouted trying to stay somewhat positive

Robin repositioned himself to get a better view at the exit points but he felt a soft body collide with him and he was pushed to the floor. He heard a pained shriek and he flipped around to see his alien girlfriend pinned to the ground by her leg by one of the contraptions. She desperately tried to light her starbolts but they faded quickly and she received a surge of electricity as a punishment for her attempts.

Robin ran back to her quickly and he cupped her cheek in his hand, "We're gonna get everyone out alright? I'm not leaving without you" she nodded in response but it was obviously more for his sake than hers.

Robin charged some of the soldiers and succeeded in knocking them to the ground whilst Cyborg blasted many others back. However, as Robin went to move again one of the soldiers on the ground managed to grab a sonic cannon from another fallen soldier and fired it at Robin, the force blasted Robin back and he collided with the wall knocking him unconscious.

Starfire was wide-eyed as she saw her boyfriend hit the floor. She focused all of her strength and managed to fire a small starbolt at one of the approaching soldiers knocking them down, a massive shock surged through her and she fell back to the ground. "Wally…Robin…go" she shouted weakly.

Wally was panicked, he knew he could take on many of the soldiers but in doing so it would leave Robin open to be captured. Cyborg pushed forwards sending a barrage of shots from his cannon into the crowd of soldiers. "Grab Robin and go, get him somewhere safe and then you can worry about coming back for us. I can hold them off for a minute" Wally nodded to his cybernetic friend and lifted Robin over his shoulders. Cyborg made a timing gesture with his fingers and at 1 he charged a massive blast which barrelled towards the soldiers forcing them to dive to the side to avoid it. At that moment Wally dashed down into the stairwells carrying his friend, in seconds they had made it outside the building and Wally picked up the pace as he rocketed towards his small apartment.

* * *

Robin's head felt like it was spinning as he sat up from where he had been asleep on the couch. He could hear mumbled talking and after a few moments his ears started to adjust. "Wally? Where are we?"

"Okay good, I don't think you have a concussion" Wally replied with a slightly relieved sigh

Robin blinked at his friend and all at once his memories came back to him, Garrison Slate, ambush, Titans captured, Starfire- "Starfire!" he shouted rocketing up in his seat.

"She was captured along with the others" Wally replied sadly, "her and Cyborg bought us enough time to escape"

Robin had his head in his hands, "Why didn't you go back for them?!" he replied frantically

"Dude you saw those brace things, they were locked to the floor. There was no way we could have moved them. I went back after I dropped you off here to see if I could follow them but by the time I got back they had already moved somewhere else"

"How the hell did I not see it was going to be a trap? It was so obvious and I just lead us all right into it"

"There's no time for beating yourself up, Dick. We need to figure out where they took them and get our friends back"

 **End of chapter 7**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

Apologies for the long wait on this one, a flu and assignment work meant I didn't have enough time to finish it until now. I'm gonna try and get the next chapter up before Christmas day but I'm not gonna make any guarantees/promises. If I don't manage to then Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all my readers.


	8. The Search

_**Last Chapter:**_

 _Robin blinked at his friend and all at once his memories came back to him, Garrison Slate, ambush, Titans captured, Starfire- "Starfire!" he shouted rocketing up in his seat._

" _She was captured along with the others" Wally replied sadly, "her and Cyborg bought us enough time to escape"_

 _Robin had his head in his hands, "Why didn't you go back for them?!" he replied frantically_

" _Dude you saw those brace things, they were locked to the floor. There was no way we could have moved them. I went back after I dropped you off here to see if I could follow them but by the time I got back they had already moved somewhere else"_

" _How the hell did I not see it was going to be a trap? It was so obvious and I just lead us all right into it"_

" _There's no time for beating yourself up, Dick. We need to figure out where they took them and get our friends back"_

* * *

 **Chapter 8 – The search**

Robin had been pacing Wally's small apartment for the last hour, they needed a plan and it had to be a good one. This wasn't just going to be a rescue mission, if they were going to save their friends then they needed to take down Slate and his organisation. It still troubled Robin how little they knew about the group, he knew there was something far more at plan than just locking up some meta-humans which is why he needed to find out and fast.

The sound of his communicator ringing broke his concentration and he reached for it in confusion, flipping open the screen he saw the name and he inwardly sighed. Pressing the answer button he awaited the familiar voice.

"Dick, what's going on? Someone is masquerading as you and the other Titans" Bruce's monotone voice asked

A small smile tugged at Robin's lips, he was glad Bruce still trusted him after the years apart. "Garrison Slate had the building bombed so that there would be an arrest warrant for me and the others"

"Garrison Slate?" Bruce asked, shock and confusion evident in his tone "the S.T.A.R Labs exec?"

"Yeah. Him and others working at S.T.A.R Labs have been drugging meta-humans to make them violent and then had them arrested. They've got the other Titans now too"

"Starfire as well?" Bruce asked

"Yeah… I'm guessing you know about us?" Robin asked awkwardly

"You weren't exactly keeping it a secret" Bruce replied but luckily for Robin he switched topics quickly, "Is there a pattern with who they have been abducting?"

"Not that I could see, seemed to just be ones they could get access to easily…I think the others were just bait to capture me and the Titans though" Robin replied

Bruce made a sound of agreement "That's likely the case. Maybe by capturing the Titans he hopes to have leverage over the Justice League in some way"

"If that's the case you and the league can't get involved with this, Bruce"

There was a pause, "Why?"

"Me and Wally already have arrest warrants on our heads and terrorism isn't just gonna get us a slap on the wrist. If you or any of the others show up it would only make things look worse. They could say you instructed us to do it and so they could put out a warrant on you as well. You have to trust me and not get involved with this"

Another pause came, "Agreed. Do you have any way of tracking them?"

"My communicator can track them but it only has a short range, the computer in the tower has a bigger range so we will have to use that to try and get a location"

"That won't be possible" Bruce replied, a video appeared on the screen showing helicopters circling Titans Tower and many armed forces guarding the perimeter of the island "it's under military lockdown"

Robin screamed inwardly for a moment, "Could the Batcomputer pick up a signal from that range?"

"Maybe, but it would take days to narrow down a location on its own, and for it to be accurate I need an estimate location for the signal to triangulate from, you need to try and find out where in the city they might have been taken and then we can work with that"

"Okay, me and Wally will try and find some answers and get you a location, in the meantime do whatever you can to boost that signal range. Starfire, she…she's had a really bad history with captivity, I can't bear to think how she must be feeling"

"I'll do whatever it takes to find them, Dick" the signal ended and Robin closed the lid of his communicator. He let out a deep sigh and rubbed at his temples.

"We're gonna find Star and the others soon, dude. I promise you" Wally said comfortingly, "I'll kill Slate if he's hurt Jinx or any of the others"

* * *

Robin had contacted Bumblebee and explained the situation, her and the rest of Titans East had been eager to come help him and Wally but he made clear that he wasn't going to let any of the others get arrested. He appointed her as the new leader of the Titans until the issue could be resolved. With that Wally and Robin set out to orchestrate their search,

Robin had contacted Bumblebee and the rest of Titans East to explain the situation, they had willingly offered to help the two of them but Robin had made it clear that no one else was going to risk being associated with this. He had put Bumblebee in charge of the Titans until he could return, she had agreed to his terms but told him that if they weren't back in 48 hours then she and the rest of them "we're gonna come find your ass". Robin felt a level of comfort of handing over his leadership for the meantime, he didn't know what he was going to do to Slate when he found him but at least if anything went wrong then the Titans would be under good leadership.

With that the duo began their search, they had to change their clothes into normal attire so they wouldn't be recognised by police or the general public. The media seemed to be exploding from the confusion and panic caused by news of the Titans 'terrorist actions'. People all over the city looked up to the Titans as a beacon of hope and without their pillar of strength the city seemed to be falling apart. Robin had to ignore it, he knew that if they could beat Slate then they could provide all the evidence they needed to clear their names but he knew people wouldn't feel safe or trusting for a long time and that cut into Robin deeper than anything else.

Hours had flown by as they scoured the city for any clues and night had already fell, but nothing had come up. Wally had done an entire sweep of the S.T.A.R Labs facility to make sure there wasn't any secret tunnels or shafts leading down to an underground area but there was nothing. It was like Slate and the soldiers had just taken their friends and vanished out of thin air. Robin's thoughts for the last few hours had almost entirely been spent on the state of his girlfriend, his heart wrenched as he tried to conceive how trapped and anxious she must be feeling. A beeping noise broke Robin out of his sadness, he flipped open his communicator and looked in confusion at the number that was calling him. Cautiously he opened it and waited for an answer.

"Robin? What the fuck is going on?" a panicked female voice asked

Robin pondered for a moment, "Alicia?"

"Yeah it's me, what the hell happened? I was out of town for one day and I come back and see that video of you and the others blowing up that building" she paused for a few seconds, "were you drugged like Max and the others?"

"No, come to the park and I'll explain it to you"

No more than 30 seconds had passed when a shape rocketed through the sky and dropped into the park next to the two. She marched forwards and Robin quickly put his sunglasses on to mask his eyes before she got to them.

"Okay, explain" she instructed

"S.T.A.R Labs we're behind all of this. They've were the ones drugging metas so that they had warrant to be able to arrest them. They convinced the mayor that their task force was the best suited to hold the meta-humans so they were able to operate without question. They knew that once we found out that Jump City would listen to us so they orchestrated that bombing to destroy our reputation"

Alicia looked overwhelmed, "But why? What are they getting out of kidnapping meta-humans?"

"We still don't know that" Wally replied, "but they have the Titans now. Me and Robin are the only ones they didn't capture"

Alicia looked at Robin sympathetically, "They took Starfire too?...I'm sorry"

"We need to move fast if we're going to stop them" Robin replied, obviously trying to keep his mind off the condition of his friends

"Well with me here we can find them even faster" Alicia replied confidently

"We don't want you getting arrested as well, Alicia"

"That's not your decision, S.T.A.R Labs has Max and now they have Starfire and the other Titans. I'm not gonna sit back when I know that I can help"

Robin let out a sigh and nodded, "Okay, got any ideas on where they could have been taken?"

"Not myself no, but I'm sure we can find someone who does" Alicia replied as a devious smirk formed on her face

For the past few days S.T.A.R Labs soldiers had been trailing Alicia, they stayed out of sight for most of the time but she had spotted them numerous times. In hindsight it was obvious that they were waiting for an opportunity to capture her, however they had never got close enough to do so. The trio had formed a plan to try and lure out one of these pursuing soldiers so they could capture them. Robin was worried that the soldiers wouldn't come out looking for more meta-humans since the Titans had been captured but luckily for them another teenager had been reportedly arrested somewhere else in the city so all the three needed to do lay a trap.

* * *

The trap was rather simple, Alicia would patrol the streets near her home and wait for any soldiers to take interest. She had donned her outfit that she wore when working with Max and made sure to spend the majority of the time in the air. She knew that the soldiers wouldn't be able to resist catching a meta-human with flight. A few hours had passed and night had fell as she aimlessly hovered around her neighbourhood, Robin and Wally had hidden on a rooftop close enough so they could watch Alicia at all times as she moved around. Bored beyond belief she dropped to the ground and lazily walked up and down the street she was on, she didn't want to picture what was happening to Max or any of the others whilst she was wasting time. Her eyes fell to the pavement beneath her and she didn't see where she was going as she bumped into a man, he made a sound of annoyance and told her to watch where she was going. She turned to apologise to the man but as she did she clutched her neck in pain, she let out a small cry as she pulled a small dart like object from her neck and then looked at it in horror.

"What happened?" Robin asked, concern evident in his voice

"Dart, I think its drugged" she replied panicking

"Wally will come get you and then we can-" Robin spoke quickly

"No, if they take me then you can follow them to where your friends are" Alicia interrupted

After a few moments Alicia began to shake violently, on cue a large truck arrived next to her two S.T.A.R Labs soldiers quickly sedated her and stuffed her into the back of the truck. Robin hated himself for allowing her to essentially risk her own life just to give them a lead but he knew he wouldn't have been able to talk her out of doing it, they weren't going to waste this opportunity that she had given them. Robin hopped onto Wally's back and the duo zipped after the truck, they periodically stopped so that they were always out of sight range from the truck, if the driver knew they were being followed then their chance to follow it would be gone. The truck barrelled through the quiet streets of the city as it approached the centre of the city it began weaving between the buildings until it disappeared into a construction zone. Wally and Robin arrived just after it entered and they scanned the area to try and see which way the truck could have gone.

"How did we lose it?" Wally asked in confusion

"The driver must have noticed us following so it cut through here as a diversion" Robin replied in annoyance. Pulling out his communicator he awaited the connection to be established to Bruce. "Bruce, we followed a truck taking a meta-human but we lost it in this construction zone, I'm sending you the coordinates. You will have to use that as an estimate location.

Bruce paused for a few moments, "There is a very faint signal coming from about 200m North East of where you are"

Robin nodded and the two rushed over to the pinged location, they were confused for a while as to how a signal could be coming from a construction site but then it suddenly hit them, this was the demolished S.T.A.R Labs facility. "Bruce we think this is the right place, we're going to find the entrance and head inside"

"Understood, good luck Dick" Bruce replied simply closing out the connection once again

A feature of Robin's communicator allowed Robin to send out a series of soundwaves at objects, it was useful for finding traps behind doors but it could also be used to measure the thickness of a wall or floor by the strength of the sound waves that bounced back. Scouring the building they managed to find a part of the floor at the south side of the building was a lot thinner than the rest of the floor around it and they knew this had to be the way in. It was likely opened via a remote device to avoid anyone else stumbling upon it, but because of this it meant there was no ordinary way to get in.

"I can phase us through the floor here" Wally suggested

"You're able to phase other people?" Robin replied

"Eh, well I've never actually properly tried before but I don't see how else we're both getting in there"

Robin gave his friend a nervous expression but he stepped forwards and held onto Wally, "Don't kill me in the process"

Wally smirked and began to vibrate rapidly, soon enough he and Robin had become intangible and were able to phase through the matter of the floor. As they eventually passed through the metal wall and into the dark underground facility they readied themselves for the fight ahead.

 **End of chapter 8**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

We have almost reached the end now, the next few parts will all be released at once so you have a complete ending to the story rather than having to wait weeks between each chapter.

Follow me on Tumblr "unknowntitans"

 **Next chapter – End Game: Part 1**


	9. End Game: Part 1

_**Last Chapter:**_

" _I can phase us through the floor here" Wally suggested_

" _You're able to phase other people?" Robin replied_

" _Eh, well I've never actually properly tried before but I don't see how else we're both getting in there"_

 _Robin gave his friend a nervous expression but he stepped forwards and held onto Wally, "Don't kill me in the process"_

 _Wally smirked and began to vibrate rapidly, soon enough he and Robin had become intangible and were able to phase through the matter of the floor. As they eventually passed through the metal wall and into the dark underground facility they readied themselves for the fight ahead._

* * *

 **Chapter 9 – End Game: Part 1**

Being phased through the wall had left Robin dizzy and disorientated so he stood in place and steadied himself for a few moments. He looked around at the large open room they were now inside of, it strongly resembled an underground level for parking cars and it had the same amount of vehicles to match. Wally took in the view of the room as well, "Where do you suppose we go now?" he asked

Robin gestured towards the end of the room where a few elevators resided and the two dashed to one of them. They stepped inside and pressed the only button inside before readying themselves, Robin pulled out a small Taser device, they couldn't risk someone seeing them and alerting the rest of the people here. Luckily for them as the elevator doors opened again there was no one in view, stepping out cautiously they peered down the large corridor before them, the walls were a pristine white colour that almost made it resemble a hospital. Images of experimentation and "treatment" flashed through Robin's mind and he shuddered. About halfway down the length of the corridor they noticed a phrase covering a good portion of the wall. " **N** ational **O** rganisation of **W** eaponised **H** uman **E** volution **R** esearch and **E** xperimentation" Wally read aloud curiously, "Who names an evil organisation 'NOWHERE'?"

Something clicked in Robin's mind and he remembered seeing the same acronym on the soldier's gun when they were arresting Max. It seemed so insignificant at the time but now it made sense, this organisation had infiltrated its way into S.T.A.R Labs supplying it with its soldiers and weaponry under the guise of keeping the city safe. Robin felt cold in remembrance of the words " _Weaponised Human Evolution_ " How they were planning to weaponize the meta-humans was something Robin didn't have an answer for but he knew he wasn't interested in seeing the outcome. They carried on down the bleach white corridor until the sound of movement up ahead sent the two into a panic. Wally quickly dashed towards Robin and grabbed hold of him, he let out a breath and began to phase into the wall. They heard the footsteps of a soldier coming down the corridor passed them and Wally dashed back out of the wall before pinning the soldier against it. The soldier opened his mouth to yell but Wally quickly covered it with his hand.

"You're gonna tell me where the containment cells are for the meta-humans" Wally demanded. The soldier let out a muffled laugh and shook his head. Wally glared but then a small grin formed on his face, "fine, I guess I'll ask you in a different way" he slowly lifted his hand so that it was level with the man's face and then he began to vibrate his hand. He lowered the hand so that it was at chest level and then started slowly moving it forwards.

The man let out a muffled scream and Robin stepped forwards putting his hand on Wally's arm. "We don't torture" he commanded

Wally turned to look at Robin and frowned, "Do I have to remind you that these bastards have Jinx, Starfire and the rest of our friends? This isn't nearly as bad as what they are probably enduring…" Robin recoiled slightly but nodded with reluctance. Wally began moving his hand forwards again and just as his fingertips breached the man's chest he let out a plea. Wally removed his hand to allow the man to speak.

"2nd floor from the bottom" the man blurted out

"Now that wasn't so hard was it?" Wally replied mockingly

"What are those collars and how do we disable them?" Robin asked

The man went silent and Wally pushed his hand up against him once more.

"The scientists call them 'The B.O.O.T', its short for 'Bio Organic Operational Taser'. They completely nullify meta-human powers by shocking cells in the body that stimulate the abilities. The only way to stop them is to know the code to shut them down, it's a different code for each one."

"What is the goal in all of this? What is Slate planning to do?"

"I don't know. I'm just a soldier, my only task is to put the prisoners in the cells"

"They are not your prisoners!" Wally growled, the man gave out a panicked plea and Wally took a breath to focus himself again "Why is Slate collecting meta-humans?" the man was silent and Wally began to vibrate his hand again.

"I don't know!" the man blurted, "he hates meta-humans and I assume he just wants to lock them all up"

Robin pondered for a moment, "He's putting in too much effort to just capture, there has to be a bigger goal. We need to keep moving"

Wally nodded, "You've been a great help, but we can't stay and chat", he said mockingly knocking the man out cold. He picked him up and dashed up the elevator before quickly dashing back down once he had hidden the unconscious man from sight.

 **End of chapter 9**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

N.O.W.H.E.R.E is an organisation that has been mentioned a few times in the comics but more prevelantly in the new 52 Teen Titans, in that they are an organisation that wanted to kidnap super powered individuals to either brainwash them or harness their powers which isn't far off from their goals in this story.

B.O.O.T is a reference to the CW Flash TV show. You'll see another reference later on.


	10. End Game: Part 2

_**Last Chapter:**_

" _What is the goal in all of this? What is Slate planning to do?"_

" _I don't know. I'm just a soldier, my only task is to put the prisoners in the cells"_

" _They are not your prisoners!" Wally growled, the man gave out a panicked plea and Wally took a breath to focus himself again "Why is Slate collecting meta-humans?" the man was silent and Wally began to vibrate his hand again._

" _I don't know!" the man blurted, "he hates meta-humans and I assume he just wants to lock them all up"_

 _Robin pondered for a moment, "He's putting in too much effort to just capture, there has to be a bigger goal. We need to keep moving"_

 _Wally nodded, "You've been a great help, but we can't stay and chat", he said mockingly knocking the man out cold. He picked him up and dashed up the elevator before quickly dashing back down once he had hidden the unconscious man from sight._

* * *

 **Chapter 10 – End Game: Part 2**

Passing through the doors the man had come through they discovered another corridor with a series of elevators, stepping inside one they pressed the Floor 2 button. It took quite a long time to reach the its destination and Robin was perplexed by how many other floors there was and what they could possibly be doing on them. Once Starfire and the others were safe they would tear this place apart. Once the elevator reached the floor Wally dashed out along the hallway disabling as many cameras as he could see and then back again, "Coast's clear for the meantime"

"We need to get everyone out as fast as possible" Robin replied

Wally grinned, "Luckily that's my profession"

It wasn't long before they found the long corridor with holding cells on either side, each room looked identical with a window to see into the room and a reinforced door to prevent any escapes. He peered in through one of the windows and was relieved when he saw Raven sat meditating on the floor. The entire cell appeared to be padded to prevent any self-inflicted injuries and the fact that they were needed deeply unsettled Robin. He gestured to the room and Wally phased them through the wall into the cell. Raven looked up in a panic but she gave a relieved smile. Wally stepped over to the B.O.O.T and studied it carefully, "Any idea on how long the password is, Raven?"

"5 digits" she replied

Wally gave a frustrated sigh, "Okay, one hundred thousand combinations . I can do that" he said sheepishly. His hand began to move at super speed as he entered the extremely large amounts of digits into the keypad but after about 30 seconds the device let out a soft hiss and its latch opened allowing Raven to remove her leg.

She stood up with a smile hugging her two friends, "You have no idea how good getting that thing off feels".

Within a few minutes they had managed to release Beast Boy and Cyborg and they moved down to Starfire's holding cell. Shock spread through the team as they found an empty cell and Robin felt himself begin to panic. "They brought her here… we saw them put her in this cell" Cyborg said, worry evident in his tone.

"I can sense her on the level below" Raven replied slightly relieved

"Slate has her", Robin stated coldly. "If he's hurt her…"

"Then he's gonna regret it" Cyborg finished, the others giving a nod of affirmation.

Robin took a breath to calm himself and then turned to his speedster friend, "Wally, go free the others and get them to safety"

Wally looked shocked, "No way, I'm gonna kick the shit out of this guy myself"

Robin placed his hand on his friends shoulder, "Jinx and the others need you more right now, we can take Slate" he said authoritatively

Wally groaned slightly but gave a nod and dashed off up the corridor towards the other cells

Raven stepped forwards surrounding herself and the others in energy and they disappeared into the black energy.

* * *

Wally was surprised by how long this corridor was, cells covered every available space along each side but most seemed to be empty. He supposed that Slate must have felt the need for more and Wally felt relieved that they were putting an end to this before more people were hurt. It wasn't long before he had arrived at the cell of the person he so desperately wanted to see. He looked inside and he stared at the girl in confusion, phasing through the wall he moved closer and he felt shock hit him. Jinx's skin complexion had changed from a greyish hue to more of a peach tone like his own, her hair whilst still pink had lost a lot of its vibrancy and now the pink resembled more of a dyed colour than her natural colour. She sat in the centre of the room with her knees pulled up to her chest and she appeared to be trembling.

He stepped towards her and he noticed that there was no B.O.O.T restraining her to the ground. "Jinxy?", he asked cautiously leaning down on his knees next to her.

Her tear stained face snapped around to face him and she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. "Wally, oh thank god I thought they had gotten you too"

He gave her a reassuring grin, "Think those assholes could catch me?". He placed his hand gently against her cheek and his tone became gentle, "What happened?"

Fresh tears began to roll down her face as she looked at him, she leant away slightly and lifted her hand between them and snapped her fingers. Nothing, no surge of vibrant pink energy or any effect and in an instant Wally understood. "They took my powers" she said with a hiccup. "They were testing a machine that could take away people's powers…I was the first one they tested it on" she paused as she let out a small sob "they decided that my powers were expendable enough to test on".

Wally felt like he was going to explode, he wanted to put Garrison Slate's head through a wall for this but he was determined to stay calm for her. He kissed her gently and wrapped his arms tightly around her back, "I'm so sorry Jenny… I should have been here to protect you."

She looked down at her hands and then back up at him, "Without my powers I'm…useless" she stated miserably.

"Don't ever say that" he replied firmly, "we're going to go and free the other kids they have here and then I'm taking you home. We'll get through this…I promise, I love you"

She gave him the best smile she could muster, "I love you too"

 **End of chapter 10**


	11. End Game: Part 3

_**Last Chapter:**_

 _Fresh tears began to roll down her face as she looked at him, she leant away slightly and lifted her hand between them and snapped her fingers. Nothing, no surge of vibrant pink energy or any effect and in an instant Wally understood. "They took my powers" she said with a hiccup. "They were testing a machine that could take away people's powers…I was the first one they tested it on" she paused as she let out a small sob "they decided that my powers were expendable enough to test on"._

 _Wally felt like he was going to explode, he wanted to put Garrison Slate's head through a wall for this but he was determined to stay calm for her. He kissed her gently and wrapped his arms tightly around her back, "I'm so sorry Jenny… I should have been here to protect you."_

 _She looked down at her hands and then back up at him, "Without my powers I'm…useless" she stated miserably._

" _Don't ever say that" he replied firmly, "we're going to go and free the other kids they have here and then I'm taking you home. We'll get through this…I promise, I love you"_

 _She gave him the best smile she could muster, "I love you too"_

* * *

 **Chapter 11 – End Game: Part 3**

The four Titans appeared in the entrance of a large open room, machinery lined each wall with most of it all hooked up to a single machine. Robin's eyes followed the mass of cables along the walls and what they eventually connected to caused Robin's legs to go out from under him. Suspended on a large metal frame was Starfire, a multitude of needles and tubing connected to her arms and legs. She was pale, so very pale what once was a vibrant gold-orange hue was now a sickly whiteish yellow colour. Robin could only stare in horror at how his strong warrior princess had been reduced to a powerless and weak husk. She looked dead. Robin withheld a strangled cry, if he kept looking he was going to have a panic attack. He needed to look away for a minute to think of a plan, but his eyes caught the figure at the end of the room. At the opposite side of the room Garrison Slate perched on a metal seat that seemed to resemble a throne. He didn't notice the groups entrance at first but after a few moments he looked up with a look of shock on his face however that quickly passed.

"I suppose I should have expected that the B.O.O.T wouldn't be enough to stop the Titans. A very interesting device though wouldn't you agree? Created by a scientist, Dr Ramon if I remember correctly. He originally designed it to be used on rogue super powered villains, I think you'll agree that we have found a better use for it though" Slate rambled

Cyborg was about to bite back a response but he noticed his arm console flash open a message and he quickly read it. " _Slate has a machine somewhere in the facility that can drain powers, he managed to drain Jinx's powers and I think he plans to use it on a bigger scale. You guys need to keep him preoccupied whilst I find the machine and take it apart"_ He held his arm out so that the others could read it and Beast Boy and Raven nodded in response.

"What's the point in all this?" Raven asked, "what do you get from kidnapping meta-humans and taking away their powers?"

Slate gave her a smirk, "Clever girl. I am doing my duty"

"Duty to who?" Raven replied

"To the human race, by protecting it from menaces like you"

Beast Boy scoffed, "We're the ones saving people"

"And how much collateral damage do you create in doing so? Do you know how many injuries and casualties come out of your so called 'heroic battles'?"

"There would be thousands more if we didn't" Cyborg added

"No. Without your kind there could be peace. No more would the civilians of Metropolis live in fear of Superman levelling their houses during one of his routine scraps, or the Flash and his rogues gallery causing mayhem in Central City. I bet you don't even remember the last S.T.A.R Labs that was here in Jump City…one of your little friend Terra's earthquakes caused the building to collapse. Over 50 scientists were inside working on technology to better the city, only to be crushed by a little girl with far too much power. My wife was one of those scientists and from that day I vowed to make sure that Terra and everyone else like her would be held accountable as the terrorists you really are."

"And you believe that using meta-humans as a weapon is somehow okay?" Raven replied with a glare

"Don't you think a police officer using a gun to take down a rogue gunman is the correct course of action? Hence the reason for the kidnappings in the first place. I needed an extremely large power source to be able to completely drain a meta-human's powers. You see during some of my older research I discovered that meta-humans all seem to share a common trait, your energy is stored in almost always the exact same form. Your cells store charge like a battery and then different cells allow access to that charge. I discovered a way of extracting that energy and converting it into electricty, so I started collecting patients to test my theory on but sadly their energy levels were disappointing to say the least. That was until I tested on your alien friend over there, her energy levels were beyond any possible comprehension. The energy from just one of her cells could power Jump City for a week which made her a perfect candidate for my newest invention. A device strong enough to send out a wave that can disrupt the energy collection from the cells rendering almost any meta-human's ability inaccessible. Whilst some may not survive the change it would be a worthwhile cost to give humanity a level playing field."

"As we speak, Kid Flash is already disassembling your machine. It won't be used on anyone else. It's over" Robin said with a growl.

Slate's eye twitched slightly and he snarled at the group, "Once I've dealt with you I'll just make another." He paused and turned to look at Starfire, "I'm sure she still has some spare energy left over"

"I'll kill you!" Robin yelled, his tone was dark and menacing

"Under normal circumstances, I'm sure that would be true. However, I forgot to enlighten you on one of my other discoveries regarding energy. Electricity isn't the only refinement product. He rose up from his chair and they noticed the different tubes that had been connected to him. Holding his hand outstretched the group watched as a starbolt flickered to life and he grinned.

"You think that scares me?" Robin asked with a broken chuckle, I've faced worse. He began to pull out his bo-staff but Raven quickly stepped in his way.

"You're not in a state to fight, Robin. You and Cyborg need to find a way to help Starfire, me and Beast Boy will deal with Slate"

"Raven's right, Rob" Cyborg said placing his hand supportively on Robin's shoulder "Titans, go!"

Raven and Beast Boy quickly made their charge towards Slate, he bolted up in the air above them and began raining down starbolts in their direction. The man's age didn't seem to affect his nimbleness with flight and the two Titans had a hard time keeping up with his movements. Beast Boy morphed into a pterodactyl chasing Slate through the air whilst Raven fired shots of her energy at Slate. Suddenly Slate made a sharp turn and as Beast Boy tried to look around to find him a green starbolt hit him in the chest knocking him the ground.

Cyborg quickly rushed to the main control panel of the machine, he connected his arm into the system and he began rapidly searching for ways to safely disable it. Robin ran quickly over to Starfire, tugging his gloves off his hands he began to stroke her face gently.

"Rob-in?" she croaked out, her voice hoarse and broken.

His heart was in agony as he looked up at how hurt and injured she was. "I'm here gorgeous. We're gonna get you out okay? You just need to stay awake for me" she gave him a small nod in response and he tried to smile for her. "You're so strong Kori, I love you so much". He was trying to be brave for her but inside he was terrified, terrified of losing her, terrified of what he'd let himself do to Slate if that was the case and terrified of how he'd go on without her.

"I-i-lo-lov-", she tried to speak but every syllable sounded like agony to her

"Shh" he said gently, tears had begun welling up in his eyes and he was thankful his mask covered them. He moved over to Cyborg and he gave him a pleading look.

"System has multi-layered protection on the override, I can break through but it's gonna take me least another 5 minutes or so" Cyborg explained.

Raven charged at Slate managing to slam one of the torn off computer monitors into his chest knocking him further back through the air. She continued after him but as he corrected himself in the air he began to hail starbolts at her and she put her protective barrier in front of her to absorb the blasts. The onslaught continued and eventually Raven's shield fell allowing one of the blasts to hit, knocking her to the ground as well. One of the blasts continued its path and singed through one of the cables connected to the draining machine. An alarm rang out and the console for the machinery began flashing brightly. Starfire gave out a loud cry and Robin turned in panic to her.

"No, no no!" Cyborg shouted, "the voltage regulator's been damaged, it's draining power way too fast"

"Robin!" Starfire screamed in pain

"What can we do?" Robin asked frantically, his panicked eyes still on his girlfriend

Cyborg rapidly typed into his arm console desperately trying to gain access to the override. Robin waited desperately for some kind of reassurance, some kind of answer but there wasn't one to be heard. Time seemed to slow down in that moment for him, it was like the world had been swallowed up by the void and all that was left was himself, Starfire and the machine. Her scream rang through his head and in a split second a decision had already been made. He knew the thicker insulated cable had to be what was transferring the energy, and without a second thought he grabbed hold of the cable, closed his eyes and yanked with all his strength. He felt the cable disconnect from the machine but the force of the disconnect caused the cable to slip along his grasp and the starbolt-frayed part of the cable connected with his hand. A surge of energy rushed along his arm and before he or anyone else knew what had happened his body had been launched six feet into the air, skidding along the floor as he landed. His heart had stopped beating before his body reached the ground.

 **End of chapter 11**


	12. End Game: Part 4

_**Last Chapter:**_

 _Raven charged at Slate managing to slam one of the torn off computer monitors into his chest knocking him further back through the air. She continued after him but as he corrected himself in the air he began to hail starbolts at her and she put her protective barrier in front of her to absorb the blasts. The onslaught continued and eventually Raven's shield fell allowing one of the blasts to hit, knocking her to the ground as well. One of the blasts continued its path and singed through one of the cables connected to the draining machine. An alarm rang out and the console for the machinery began flashing brightly. Starfire gave out a loud cry and Robin turned in panic to her._

" _No, no no!" Cyborg shouted, "the voltage regulator's been damaged, it's draining power way too fast"_

" _Robin!" Starfire screamed in pain_

" _What can we do?" Robin asked frantically, his panicked eyes still on his girlfriend_

 _Cyborg rapidly typed into his arm console desperately trying to gain access to the override. Robin waited desperately for some kind of reassurance, some kind of answer but there wasn't one to be heard. Time seemed to slow down in that moment for him, it was like the world had been swallowed up by the void and all that was left was himself, Starfire and the machine. Her scream rang through his head and in a split second a decision had already been made. He knew the thicker insulated cable had to be what was transferring the energy, and without a second thought he grabbed hold of the cable, closed his eyes and yanked with all his strength. He felt the cable disconnect from the machine but the force of the disconnect caused the cable to slip along his grasp and the starbolt-frayed part of the cable connected with his hand. A surge of energy rushed along his arm and before he or anyone else knew what had happened his body had been launched six feet into the air, skidding along the floor as he landed. His heart had stopped beating before his body reached the ground._

* * *

 **Chapter 12 – End Game: Part 4**

Three times his name was called, once in panic, once in confusion and once in agony. The first came from Cyborg as he watched his friend launched through the air. He was at his side within moments and desperately checked his scanners for something he couldn't bear to see. No heartbeat, no breathing. CPR was started almost instantly first with compressions and then with electroshocks. No result.

The second call was from Raven, she and Beast Boy had looked around from their position on the floor as she heard Cyborg and her eyes went wide. Raising her hand, she focused on Robin's body and she felt her heart sink. He was gone.

The last one came from Starfire, Robin's plan had worked and the draining process had stopped. She tried to get her eyes to focus to make sure what she had seen was real. She watched as Cyborg climbed to his feet, he looked broken and defeated, he looked over at her and his eyes gave her the answer. She crumpled, a sob tore through her and it felt like she was suffocating, it felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest and in that moment, she may have been grateful for that to be the case. Her beloved's body lay crumpled on the floor. She let out a wail and her body finally gave into unconsciousness.

* * *

The afterlife was a concept Robin hadn't really put a lot of thought into, that was his opinion on religion in general though. He had remembered that his parents were Christian, but it was never a category he really placed himself into. He guessed he just never really had time to think about it, his life had been non-stop since Bruce took him in. He remembered now that he had never asked Bruce about religion before either, he guessed though that after the things Bruce had seen in his life it would be pretty hard to believe in some benevolent entity as our creator. Starfire had mentioned 'Xhal' before but from how she spoke Xhal was a real person, a woman of extraordinary power that Tamaraneans believed to be a goddess and that when a Tamaranean dies their energy is given to Xhal. The afterlife seemed to be a topic a lot of people thought of as separate from religion, was there a light at the end guiding him somewhere or an endless abyss of nothingness forever? In reality it was neither, it was the absence of both light and dark, the absence of everything to be honest. The only thing he could compare it with was a dreamless sleep, it's just like you seem to cease to exist between the point of falling asleep and waking back up. Hours have passed in the real world but to you it feels like milliseconds from your eyes closing to opening again as they were now.

He could feel softness beneath him, he was laid on his front with his face buried into his pillow hoping that he could steal a few more moments of sleep before he was forced to wake up to reality. To his left he could feel a warmth, and he felt her shift slightly in the bed beside him. He smiled to himself and gently reached his arm across to touch her, his hand connected with the fabric of her silk pyjamas. He could remember the look on her face when he bought them for her when she first came to Earth. Since she had been travelling lightly when she escaped the Gordanians she didn't have any extra clothes, he had taken her to the mall the following day and allowed her to pick out some clothes she liked the look of. He was a bit surprised to say the least when almost every single garment was a deep royal purple colour, the only thing that wasn't purple was the pair of pink silk pyjamas. She had accidentally brushed her hand along the material and instantly she was entranced by its feel and texture, she had brought it to him instantly and he could only smile at her enthusiasm. He moved his arm until he felt her stomach and began to draw small imaginary circles with his finger. She yawned cutely and flipped onto her side so that she was facing him, her mess of hair covered most of her face and she had to brush her bangs out of her eyes. "Greetings" she said with a smile.

"Morning beautiful" he replied

"I am not sure if morning would be correct" she said with a small smirk, gesturing to the clock reading 1:15pm on the wall opposite the bed.

He grinned, "So I like staying in bed with my girlfriend, sue me"

She leaned over slightly and kissed him, "It would be nice to stay here forever"

"Yeah", suddenly his body began to feel hot and out of the corner of his eye he saw part of the far wall turn crumble away to reveal an infinite white void. Memories started to seep through his false reality and he grabbed hold of Starfire tightly. The void began to creep closer to them and tears began to roll down his cheeks. "No…no, not yet"

"Richard?" Starfire asked confused

He wrapped his arms around her tightly and hid his face in her shoulder, "Please, not yet" he looked up for a moment and the void had reached the area around her bed. "I want to stay" he spoke, his voice trembling like a scared child, "I want to stay here with her".

"Richard, I am not going anywhere", her voice soft and reassuring

"If she died too then I want to stay…don't take me back without her"

He felt a loss of contact and he opened his eyes to find that she was gone and before he could react his vision went black.

* * *

Garrison Slate landed on the ground and made his way towards Robin's body and used his foot to tilt Robin's head slightly. "I suppose you have to give the boy points for his valiance, although I'm sure it could also be stupidity"

"Get away from him!" Cyborg roared as he charged Slate only for a starbolt to collide with him knocking him onto his back.

"And what exactly are you going to do, Victor" Slate replied mockingly

Something inside Raven snapped and suddenly she rose into the air, darkness engulfing her form and four red menacing eyes focused their attention on Slate. "I'm going to make you regret those words" her demonic voice spat.

Slate backed up slightly and for once he actually seemed to show concern, he threw starbolt after starbolt at Raven but they seemed to vanish into the abyss inside her cape. She progressed further and further towards him as he backed away but as she closed in a bright green light illuminated the room drawing all attention.

* * *

Robin felt like the inside of his flesh was being seared, like magma had been poured directly into his veins and his whole body writhed in agony. He was alive, he could feel it, he didn't know how but he knew that the cold metal floor beneath him was real. His thoughts went to Starfire, he didn't save her in time, she was gone and he would have to see her lifeless body and he knew that it would be too much. His thoughts then turned to Slate and all he could feel was anger, rage poured through him and all he could imagine was himself standing over Slate's mangled body. He was going to do it this time, if Starfire was gone then he wasn't going to stop himself. He would allow it. He would enjoy it. Sound began to enter his ears and soon the fuzziness cleared and he recognised Slate's voice. His sight was next to return and he squinted his eyes open to see a fuzzy image of the roof above him, next he heard Raven's voice. By the time his vision had cleared his body seemed to have fully recovered from the shock, out of the corner of his eyes he spotted Slate. He allowed his rage to flow freely within him and all other emotions seemed to disappear as rage took centre stage. Rising to his feet he stood facing the monster, he aimed his hand forwards and a starbolt began to flicker to life, quickly engulfing his entirer hand before he released it. It hurtled through the air and hit the surprised Slate directly in the face knocking him several feet backwards to the floor.

Raven returned to her normal form and the 3 Titans stared at Robin in alarm. "Robin?!" Beast Boy called to him.

He didn't seem to pay any attention as he started a full pelt sprint towards Slate, his eyes burned a toxic green and the front of his mask seemed to be singed from the intensity. Slate looked on in terror before trying to flee into the air, but before he could make it more than a few feet off the ground Robin had blasted him with a starbolt. Slate fell out of the air and was caught by a burning green hand around his throat, he clawed and clutched at the hand trying to desperately loosen its grasp but it was no use. His eyes were drawn to Robin's cold menacing stare and he audially gulped.

Robin lifted his other hand and forged a starbolt, he pushed it slowly towards Slate's face and he screamed as it singed the flesh on his cheek. "Any last words?" the menacing voice asked. Suddenly he felt his arm being tugged at and he turned his head to see Cyborg desperately trying to pull his arm away.

"Rob, stop!" Cyborg pleaded

"Why? And let him get away with what he's done" anger flared in his voice

"This aint you man! You need to stop, before you lose yourself" he cried

"He took her away from me, what else can I lose?" Robin replied, misery mixing with his fury

"Starfire's alive! You saved her! But you need to stop this now while you can"

"No…but she-", his eyes moved over to where Beast Boy and Raven were carefully lifting Starfire out of the machine. The pain in his heart suddenly began to fade and the fog of rage cleared from his vision, he looked at Slate for a moment and then knocked him out cold before tossing him to the ground in disgust. "I was going to kill him…" he said in a panic clutching is head in his hands.

Cyborg quickly put his arms around his friend and patted his back, "But you didn't Rob, you stopped yourself" he spoke soothingly.

Robin hugged his metallic friend back and allowed the anger to wash away from him, "What the hell happened to me? How do I have starbolts?"

"Let's leave that till later, for now let's just be glad you're not dead" Cyborg replied, a relieved grin evident on his face.

A large gust of wind blew into the room as 2 speedsters carrying a slightly delirious Batman appeared in the room. The scarlet speedster Barry Allen looked around the room in concern, "You kids alright?"

"Starfire is injured but she'll recover" Raven replied

Barry dashed over to her, "Do you want me to take her to a hospital?"

"No, she should stay with us. We can treat her" Robin answered walking over to them with Cyborg

Batman held up a pair of magnetic handcuffs in the air in front of Barry, "Oh yeah, sorry about that Bats" he said disappearing and then reappearing with a handcuffed Garrison Slate.

"It's great and all you guys showing up but Slate still has powers doesn't he? How long will those cuffs hold him?" Beast Boy asked

Raven held her hand up and focused on Slate, "His energy has mostly depleted anyway. He shows no signs of regenerating that energy either. However he was taking her powers it was only a temporary transfer." She turned her attention to Robin and focused again, "Robin, however is a different story. Your energy doesn't seem to be depleting"

Robin lit his hand with a starbolt and gave a small grin, "Guess I'm stuck with these then?"

Barry, Wally and Batman all recoiled and stared at him, "Dude! You have starbolts?" Wally shouted excitedly, "that's so awesome!"

Robin sighed, "Yeah, I touched one of the transfer cables and I kind of died for a while but I guess the energy restarted my heart and when I woke up I had starbolts"

Batman stepped forwards, "You're acting pretty casually about dying"

"At least you got some cool powers out of it, Dick" Barry said with a smirk. Batman turned and glared at Barry and he gave a nervous laugh, "I guess I'll take Slate and leave you guys to it" before anyone could respond the red blur dashed out of the room.

"Do you feel okay?" Batman asked

"I definitely feel different" Robin said with a sheepish smile, "I guess 'okay' is pretty subjective in this situation"

Raven walked over and put her arms around him tightly, "Don't scare me like that again, understand?" her tone serious.

"Yeah dude, seeing that…it wasn't fun" Beast Boy added

"Sorry guys, I needed to get Starfire out of there and I panicked"

"And because of that she'll be alright" Cyborg said placing his hand on his friend's shoulder, "you made the right call"

"You did well, Titans. I trusted you to handle it and you did" Batman said proudly, "Wally told me, about the power nullifier they had been building. It had enough power to wipe out any League member who could have come here, you put your own abilities at risk to stop it and for that we're grateful"

"Soppy doesn't suit you Bruce" Robin said with a smirk, "where are Clark and Diana?"

"Them and Hal are going around every other S.T.A.R Labs to make sure the rest haven't been infiltrated. We need to take further precautions in the future, that includes scouring this place for any other dangerous technology"

"Okay, we'll leave the rest in your hands Bruce" Robin said, walking over to where Starfire laid and he bent down lifting her up bridal style. "Titans, lets go home"

 **End of chapter 12**


	13. Epilogue

_**Last Chapter:**_

" _No…but she-", he looked over to where Beast Boy and Raven were carefully lifting Starfire out of the machine. The pain in his heart suddenly disappeared and the fog of rage cleared from his vision, he looked at Slate for a moment and then dropped him to the ground in disgust. "I was going to kill him…" he said in a panic, he clutched at his head "I was going to murder someone"._

 _Cyborg put his arms around his friend and patted his back, "But you didn't Robin, you stopped yourself" he spoke soothingly._

 _Robin hugged his metallic friend back, "What the hell happened to me? How do I have starbolts?"_

" _Let's leave that till later, for now let's just be glad you're not dead" Cyborg replied, a relieved grin evident on his face._

* * *

 **Chapter 13 – Epilogue**

" _And in today's news, Jump City's S.T.A.R Labs CEO Garrison Slate has been on trial for orchestrating terror attacks around the city and had plans to attack the meta-human population. He was arrested 3 days ago in a secret facility located under the recently destroyed S.T.A.R Labs building. He has received 5 different life sentences for grievous bodily harm done to minors and also the 6 deaths caused by the explosion of the S.T.A.R Labs building a few days ago. In related news the Teen Titans have been cleared of any wrong doings after it was revealed that the villainess Laura De Mille aka 'Madame Rouge' was hired by Slate to stage the recording. Our news team interviewed 2 of the captives, Alicia Keystone and Max Faraday who said they are simply 'glad this nightmare is over'._

 _Justice League members Batman and The Flash arrived at the scene and were present during Mr Slate's arrest, both likely very proud of their children's accomplishments. This whole incident has sparked a political movement to give support and protection to the growing number of meta-humans in Jump City and all across the USA. Governments have vowed to work more closely with meta-humans in the future to help stop another incident like this from happening again. After a board decision the Jump City division of S.T.A.R Labs will be taken over by Dr Harrison Wells, the CEO of the Central City division. He will be overseeing the rebuilding process and operations for the foreseeable future to prevent any future_

 _In further news, the mayor of Jump City was forced to resign as it was revealed he may have been working with Garrison Slate and aiding his capture of meta-humans. Whilst he was not jailed he has been forced to step down from his mayor ship and also politics entirely. We'll have more news later tonight"_

Robin pressed down the power button on the remote and he rose up from his seat on the couch. "How does it feel that the news think you're Batman's kid?" Cyborg asked him with a grin.

"Meh, that's pretty much the case anyway. I doubt Wally would be happy with them calling Barry his dad" Robin replied smirking

"Yeah, I see neither of them being too happy about that" he looked out of the window, "suns starting to go down. I better go bring Star in"

Robin waved his hand, "It's fine I've got her", he strolled up the stairs in the tower until he reached the roof door and he smiled as the light of the setting sun soaked into his skin. He strolled over to the makeshift bed they had created for her on the rooftop and sat down on the space next to her. He laid back slightly and enjoyed watching the last few moments of Sol before he disappeared beyond the horizon for the night. For the past 3 days he had sat and watched the sun rise and set with her, her usual radiant complexion had completely returned. He had missed her voice so much these last few days but he found he coped a lot better if he sat up with her as she recovered.

The breeze blew through Robin's hair and his cape bustled behind him slightly, he was so involved with watching the last remaining part of the sun peeking over the horizon that he didn't hear her stir beside him. With a start, Starfire lunged forwards her eyes wide with panic "Robin!" she cried, her breathing ragged and shallow.

Robin turned around quickly and climbed onto the mattress in front of her, he placed cupped both of her cheeks with his hands and used his thumbs to draw gentle circles to try and calm her. "I'm here gorgeous", he spoke soothingly. Her eyes were still wide with confusion, so he quickly reached up and pulled the mask from his eyes.

Tears began to well in her eyes and a few escaped and slipped down her cheeks, "But I saw you perish" she said in a shaky voice

"No, I'm okay honey I promise. You passed out before you saw me get back up", he would explain to her what actually happened later, but for now she would be too upset to understand it fully. She nodded that she understood but she was clearly still extremely upset. "You've been asleep for a while, Kori. 3 days so far, it's been so long we gave you the nickname 'Sleeping Beauty', we brought you up here to sleep so that you would recharge faster"

A small smile formed on her face, he smiled in response and then suddenly in what seemed like an instant she had pinned him to the floor and her lips were sealed to his. She had wrapped her arms around his neck and she was kissing him with full force, emotions started to fuel him and quickly he began kissing her back with just as much force. All the misery and sadness from that day, the loneliness of the last 3 days without her drained away and he felt them begin to float off the ground, Starfire recoiled back from him in surprise.

"What's wrong Star, you're happy aren't you?" he asked, worry in his voice.

"Yes, but I am not the one who initiated flight" she said staring at him.

His eyes went wide as well, "No. Fucking. Way." A massive grin spread across his face and he began to float upwards slightly. He giggled like an excited child as he managed to make himself float back down. All the meanwhile Starfire continued to stare in shock and intrigue. "I suppose I should mention these as well" he said with a sheepish grin, lighting a starbolt in each hand.

The confusion began to melt away and Starfire's eyes lit up in joy, "…Richard, you have my powers!"

"Yeah touching that cable gave me a massive surge of your energy and according to Cyborg's scans that energy has merged with my cells...I didn't know about this though", he said with a laugh gesturing to his flight. "Guess this makes me part Tamaranean now huh, Star?"

She continued to watch him in wonder, "I suppose" she replied with a giggle, "Do you also regenerate your energy from the sun?"

"Yeah, whenever I've been up here with you I've been charging myself"

Her mind seemed to kick back into normal drive and she looked concerned again, "What happened to Slate?"

"In prison, 5 life sentences" he said with a sigh, "I almost killed him Star"

She looked shocked, "You did?"

"When I woke up with your powers, I thought- I thought you were dead and I lost it. It took Cyborg just to get me to stop. I just couldn't control myself, I just felt so angry…like I had no other emotions anymore"

She stoked his arms comfortingly, but then recognition flashed in her eyes, "It is possible that perhaps some of my DNA was transmitted into you which may have re-balanced your hormones to be similar to a Tamaranean. You do seem more hyperactive than usual, it would explain your lack of control" her eyes saddened for a moment, "I am sorry for my abilities being forced on you, they are a burden you shouldn't have to bear"

He frowned, "You don't have anything to be sorry for Star, I'm sure I will get used to them" something flashed in his mind and a big grin spread across his face. "Besides Star, guess what I can officially call myself?"

"What?" she said, playing along

"Dick, the flying Grayson!" he shouted launching himself up into the air high above the tower, eliciting a series of giggles from his girlfriend who quickly gave chase.

 **The End**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

We've finally reached the end guys, apologies for how long it takes me to write these but other things in my life like university will always take priority so there's nothing I can really do about it.

What did you guys think of the ending/the story as a whole? Let me know via a review, PM or message me on Tumblr (unknowntitans).

The idea of Tamaranean Robin is heavily inspired by the work of "Kryalla Orchid" and "dardraws". Kryalla created the excellent story "Starbolt Five" which covers a lot more details of Robin getting Starfire's powers. dar created a lot of excellent art based around the story. Both however were inspired from issue 24 of the "Teen Titans Go!" comic where the Titans have their powers all swapped around and Robin gets Starfire's powers.

I would like to go into more detail about Robin's abilities in a sequel story but I don't want to seem like I'm copying from Kryalla's story. I'll see though because I'd really like to go into more depths about how Robin and Starfire's relationship would change with him having her abilities and some of her heightened emotions, I think it would definitely change the dynamic between them and it would be interesting to explain the good and bad sides of that.

You can probably guess the reason for the title of the story now but I'll summarise it here, "Nowhere" being the organisation and "Fast" because of Wally featuring in it. It used to be called "Going Nowhere" but I liked the ring of "Nowhere Fast" better. Also the names "Dr Harrison Wells" and "Dr Ramon" are references to the CW "The Flash" series which is excellent.

Thanks so much for being patient and sticking around, I'm going to try and write more single chapter stories in the future so you're not all sat around waiting for an update.


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